f 


1 


GIFT   OF 
H.   L.  MoWILLIAMS 


..-m^ 


^ 


From  photograph  taken  at 
Hawabdkn  in  1892,  the  time 
of  his  fourth  call  to  the 
premiership. 


.^MJat-^ 


r^ 


f(mD  OW  Mfi 


OR  THE 


liife  and  Public  Bemee0 


OF 


<57r6  oRj'ght  (honorable  'WjJIfam  Sy/aH 


'li 


FOUR  TIMES 


(Pn'me  J^fnfster  of  England 


BY 


J^iohard  oB.  Gook,  qD.qD. 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  8PURGE0N 
ETC.,  ETC. 


"^v 


ILLUSTRATED 


PUBLISHERS'  UNION 
1898  - 


Cy 


^ 


^^L,  Q/^t  <^(X£c^^>vv^ 


Copyright  1898 
R.  B.  COOK. 


PREFACE 


^%^^ILLIAM  E.  GLADSTONE  was  cos- 
^w[  mopolitan.  THe  Premier  of  tlie  British. 
Empire  is  ever  a  prominent  personage, 
but  lie  lias  stood  above  them  all.  For 
more  tban  half  a  century  he  has  been  the 
active  advocate  of  liberty,  morality  and  religion, 
and  of  movements  that  had  for  their  object 
the  prosperity,  advancement  and  happiness 
of  men.  In  all  this  he  has  been  npright,  dis- 
interested and  conscientious  in  word  and  deed. 
He  has  proved  himself  to  be  the  world's 
champion  of  human  rights.  For  these  reasons 
he  has  endeared  himself  to  all  men  wherever  civ- 
ilization has  advanced  to  enlighten  and  to  ele- 
vate in  this  wide  world. 

With  the  closing  of  the  19th  century  the 
world  is  approaching  a  crisis  in  which  every  na- 
tion is  involved.     For  a  time   the   map  of  the 


Yi  PREFACE 

world  miglit  as  well  be  rolled  up.  Great  ques- 
tions that  liave  agitated  one  or  more  nations 
have  convulsed  the  whole  earth  because  steam 
and  electricity  have  annihilated  time  and  space. 
Questions  that  have  sprung  up  between  England 
and  Africa,  France  and  Prussia,  China  and  Jap- 
an, Russia  and  China,  Turkey  and  Armenia, 
Greece  and  Turkey,  Spain  and  America  have 
proved  international  and  have  moved  all  nations. 
The  daily  proceedings  of  Congress  at  Washing- 
ton are  discussed  in  Japan. 

In  these  times  of  turning  and  overturning, 
of  discontent  and  unrest,  of  greed  and  war,  when 
the  needs  of  the  nations  most  demand  men  of 
world-wide  renown,  of  great  experience  in  gov- 
ernment and  diplomacy,  and  of  firm  hold  upon 
the  confidence  of  the  people ;  such  men  as,  for 
example,  Gladstone,  Salisbury,  Bismark,  Crispi 
and  Li  Hung  Chang,  who  have  led  the  mighty 
advance  of  civilization,  are  passing  away.  Upon 
younger  men  falls  the  heavy  burden  of  the 
world,  and  the  solution  of  the  mighty  problems 
of  this  climax  of  the  most  momentous  of  all 
centuries. 

However,  the  Record  of  these  illustrious 
lives  remains  to  us  for  guidance  and  inspi- 
ration. History  is  the  biography  of  great  men. 
The  lamp  of  history  is  the  beacon  light  of  many 
lives.     The  biography  of  William  E.  Gladstone 


PREFACE  vii 

is  the  history,  not  only  of  the  English  Parlia- 
ment, but  of  the  the  progress  of  civilization  in 
the  earth  for  the  whole  period  of  his  public  life. 
With  the  life  of  Mr.  Gladstone  in  his  hand,  the 
student  of  history  or  the  young  statesman  has  a 
light  to  guide  him  and  to  help  him  solve  those 
intricate  problems  now  perplexing  the  nations, 
and  upon  the  right  solution  of  which  depends 
Christian  civilization — the  liberties,  progress, 
prosperity  and  happiness  of  the  human  race. 
Hence,  the  life  and  public  services  of  the 
Grand  Old  Man  cannot  fail  to  be  of  intense 
interest  to  all,  particularly  to  the  English,  be- 
cause he  has  repeatedly  occupied  the  highest 
position  under  the  sovereign  of  Englatidj 
to  the  Irish  whether  Protestant  or  Catholic,  north 
or  south,  because  of  his  advocacy  of  (Reforms) 
for  Ireland  ;  to  the  Scotch  because  of  his  Scottish 
descent ;  to  the  German  because  he  reminds 
them  of  their  own  great  chancellor,  the  Unifier 
of  Germany,  Prince  Bismarck  ;  and  to  the 
American  because  he  was  ever  the  champion  of 
freedom;  and  as  there  has  been  erected  in 
Westminster  Abbey  a  tablet  to  the  memory  of 
Lord  Howe,  so  will  the  American  people  enshrine 
in  their  hearts,  among  the  greatest  of  the  great, 
the  memory  of  William  Ewart  Gladstone, 


*'  In  youth  a  student  and  in  eld  a  sage ; 

Lover  of  freedom  ;  of  mankind  the  friend  ; 
Noble  in  aim  from  childhood  to  the  end  ; 
Great  is  thy  mark  upon  historic  page." 


fviii] 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I 
Ancestry  and  Birth 17 

CHAPTER  II 
At  Eton  and  Oxford 45 

CHAPTER  III 
Early  Parliamentary  Experiences    ...     85 

CHAPTER  IV 
Book  on  Church  and  State 123 

CHAPTER  V 
Travels  and  Marriage *  ^53 

CHAPTER  VI 
Enters  the  Cabinet .191 

CHAPTER  VII 
Member  for  Oxford  ...     * 226 

CHAPTER  VIII 
The  Neapolitan  Prisons    .    * 262 

CHAPTER  IX 
Tun  First  Budget 297 

ix 


X  CONTENTS 

CHAPTElTx 

PAGE 

The  Crimean  War 328 

CHAPTER  XI 
In  Opposition  to  the  Government    .    .    .    346 

CHAPTER  Xn 
Homeric  Studies »    .    .    .    .    358 

CHAPTER  XIII 
Great  Budgets 369 

CHAPTER  XIV 
V        i^iBERAi.  Reformer  and  Prime  Minister     .  383 

CHAPTER  XV 
The  Golden  Age  of  I^iberai^ism      ....  407 

CHAPTER  XVI 
The  Eastern  Question 423 

CHAPTER  XVII 
M1D1.0THIAN  and  the  Second  Premiership  .  441 


./ 


CONTENTS  xi 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
Third  Administration  and  Homb  Rui.e  .    •    475 


/ 


CHAPTER  XIX 


\/      Prime  Minister  the  Fourth  Time 


.     508 


CHAPTER  XX 
In  Private  I^ife 526 

CHAPTER  XXI 
C1.0SING  Scenes 561 


(^  "^^ 


Gladstone  entering  Palace  Yard,  Westminster, 


*'  In  thought,  word  and  deed, 
How  throughout  all  thy  warfare  thou  wast  pure, 
I  find  it  easy  to  believe." 

— Robert  Beowninq, 


[xii] 


List  of  Illustrations. 


Page 

William  E.  Gladstone Frontispiece. 

Gladstone  Entering  Palace  Yard,  Westminster 11 

Gladstone  and  Sister 19 

Interior  of  the  Old  House  of  Commons 38 

Birthplace  of  Gladstone 44 

Glimpses  of  Gladstone's  Earlier  Years 55 

Houses  of  Parliament 73 

Gladstone's  London  Residence 84 

Lobby  of  the  House  of  Commons 91 

Grattan 122 

Kilmainham  Jail 152 

Gladstone's  Marriage  at  Ha  warden 162 

No.  10  Downing  Street,  London 167 

The  Park  Gate,  Hawarden 170 

Old  Hawarden  Castle 172 

Hawarden  Castle,  from  the  Park 174 

Waterfall  in  Hawarden  Park 177 

Court  Yard,  Hawarden ■. 180 

Gladstone  Reading  the  Lessons  at  Hawarden  Church,  183 

The  Rev.  H.  Drew 185 

Dorothy's  Dovecote 186 

Dining-Room  in  the  Orphanage 188 

Staircase  in  the  Orphanage 189 

Hawarden  Church 190 

Hawarden  Castle 218 

Loyal  Ulster 225 

Gladstone's  Early  English  Contemporaries 235 

Gladstone's  Later  English  Contemporaries 254 

Gladstone  in  Wales 261 

City  and  County  Volunteers  of  Dublin 271 

Condition  of  Ireland,  1882 290 

Gladstone  Visiting  Neapolitan  Prisons 296 

Gladstone  Introducing  His  First  Budget 307 

The  Sunderland  Shipowner  Surprised 326 


xiv.  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

Family  Geoup  at  Hawarden 343 

House  of  Commons 345 

William  the  Conqueeob 357 

Gladstone  and  Geanddaughtee 362 

Gladstone's  Axe 368 

Gladstone  Family  Geoup 3?9 

Salisbuey  Ministey  Defeated 398 

The  Old  Lion 406 

Gladstone's  Reception  in  the  House  op  Commons 415 

Gladstone's  Mail 422 

Release  of  Paenell,  Dillon  and  O'Kelly ;  434 

Gladstone  on  His  way  Home 440 

The  Midlothian  Campaign 451 

Queen  Victoeia 458 

Gladstone  and  his  Son,  Heebert 467 

Galleey  of  the  House  of  Commons 474 

Ieish  Leadees 478 

Ieish  Constabulaey  Evicting  Tenants 487 

Gladstone's  Study  at  Hawaeden 497 

Fourth  Administeation  Cabinet 509 

Gladstone  on  the  Queen's  Yacht 514 

St.  James  Palace 519 

Queen  and  Peemiee 523 

Gladstone  in  His  Study,  Reading 529 

Me.  and  Mes„  Gladstone,  1897 585 


INTRODUCTORY. 


There  are  few,  even  among  those  who  differed 
from  him,  who  would  deny  to  Mr.  Gladstone  the  title 
of  a  great  statesman ;  and  in  order  to  appreciate  his 
wonderful  career,  it  is  necessary  to  realize  the 
condition  of  the  world  of  thought,  manners  and  works 
at  the  time  when  he  entered  public  life. 

In  medicine  there  was  no  chloroform;  in  art  the 
sun  had  not  been  enlisted  in  portraiture  ;  railways 
were  just  struggling  into  existence;  the  electric  tele- 
graph was  unknown;  gas  was  an  unfashionable  light; 
postage  was  dear,  and  newspapers  were  taxed. 

In  literature,  Scott  had  just  died;  Carlyle  was 
awaiting  the  publication  of  his  first  characteristic 
book;  Tennyson  was  regarded  as  worthy  of  hope  be- 
cause of  his  juvenile  poems  ;  Macaulay  was  simply  a 
brilliant  young  man  who  had  written  some  stirring 
verse  and  splendid  prose ;  the  Brontes  were  school- 
girls; Thackeray  was  dreaming  of  becoming  an  artist; 
Dickens  had  not  written  a  line  of  fiction  ;  Browning 
and  George  Eliot  were  yet  to  come. 

In  theology,  Newman  was  just  emerging  from 
evangelicalism ;  Pusey  was  an  Oxford  tutor  ;  Samuel 
Wilberforce  a  village  curate;  Henry  Manning  a  young 
graduate;  and  Darwin  was  commencing  that  series  of 
investigations  which  revolutionized  the  popular  con- 
ception of  created  things. 

Princess,  afterwards  Queen  Victoria,  was  a  girl  of 
thirteen;  Cobden  a  young  calico  printer;  Bright  a 
younger  cotton  spinner;  Palmerston  was  regarded  as  a 

(XV) 


xvi  INTRODUCTORY. 

man-about-town,  and  Disraeli  as  a  brilliant  and  eccen- 
tric novelist  with  parliamentary  ambition.  The  future 
Marquis  of  Salisbury  and  Prime  Minister  of  Great 
Britain  was  an  infant  scarcely  out  of  arms;  Lord  Rose- 
bery ,  (  Mr.  Gladstone's  successor  in  the  Liberal  Pre- 
miership), Lord  Spencer,  Lord  Herschell,  Mr.  John 
Morley,  Mr.  Campbell-Bannerman,  Mr.  Asquith,  Mr. 
Brice,  Mr.  Acland  and  Mr.  Arnold  Morley,  or  more 
than  half  the  members  of  his  latest  cabinet  remained 
to  be  born ;  as  did  also  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,  Mr.  Bal- 
four and  Mr.  Chamberlain,  among  those  who  were  his 
keenest  opponents  toward  the  end  of  his  public  career. 

At  last  the  end  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  public  life 
arrived,  but  it  had  been  extended  to  an  age  greater  than 
that  at  which  any  English  statesman  had  ever  con- 
ducted the  government  of  his  country. 

Of  the  significance  of  the  life  of  this  great  man, 
it  would  be  superfluous  to  speak.  The  story  will  sig- 
nally fail  of  its  purpose  if  it  does  not  carry  its  own 
moral  with  it.  We  can  best  conclude  these  introduct- 
ory remarks  by  applying  to  the  subject  of  the  follow- 
ing pages ,  some  words  which  he  applied  a  generation 
ago  to  others : 

In  the  sphere  of  common  experience  we  see  some  human 
beings  live  and  die,  and  furnish  by  their  life  no  special  lessons  visible 
to  man,  but  only  that  general  teaching  in  elementary  and  simple 
forms  which  is  derivable  from  every  particle  of  human  histories. 
Others  there  have  been,  who,  from  the  times  when  their  young  lives 
first,  as  it  were,  peeped  over  the  horizon,  seemed  at  once  ta— 

"  *  Flame  in  the  forehead  of  the  evening  sky,'  " 
— ^Whose  lengthening  years  have  been  but  one  growing 
splendor,  and  who  at  last — 

•' Leave  a  lofty  name, 

A  light,  a  landmark  on  the  cliffs  of  fame.'* 


V. 


BRA  Ry* 

OF  TH£ 


u 


DIVERSITY  ^      CHAPTER  1 

Ancestry  and  Birth 


//        y^LL  History,"  says  Emerson,  "resolves 

^j(£       itself  into  the  biographies  of  a  few 

^0^^^^     stout  and  earnest  persons."     These 

remarks  find  exemplification  in  the 

life  of  William  Ewart  Gladstone,  of 

whom  they  are  pre-eminently  true.     His  recorded 

life,  from  the  early  period  of  his  graduation  to 

his  fourth  premiership,  would  embrace  in  every 

important   respect  not   only  the  history  of  the 

British  Empire,  but  very  largely  the  international 

events  of  every  nation  of  the  world  for  more  than 

half  a  century. 

William  Ewart  Gladstone,  M.  P.,  D.  C.  L., 
statesman,  orator  and  scholar,  was  born  December 
27,  1809,  in  Liverpool,  England.  The  house  in 
which  he  was  born,  number  62  Rodney  Street,  a 
commodious  and  imposing  *'  double-fronted " 
dwelling  of  red  brick,  is  still  standing.  In  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Rodney  Street  house,  and 
a  few  years  before  or  after  the  birth  of  William 
E.  Gladstone,  a  number  of  distinguished  persons 


(2) 


17 


i8  William  E.  Gladstone 

were  born,  among  tliem  William  Roscoe,  the 
writer  and  philantliropist,  Jolin  Gibson,  the 
sculptor.  Doctor  Bickerstetb,  tbe  late  Bisbop  of 
Ripon,  Mrs.  Hemans,  tbe  poetess,  and  Doctor 
James  Martineau,  Professor  of  Mental  and  Moral 
Philosophy  in  Manchester  New  College,  and  the 
brother  of  Harriet  Martineau,  the  authoress. 

The  Gladstone  family,  or  Gledstanes,  which 
was  the  original  family  name,  was  of  Scottish 
origin.  The  derivation  of  the  name  is  obvious 
enough  to  any  one  familiar  with  the  ancestral 
home.  A  gled  is  a  hawk,  and  that  fierce  and 
beautiful  bird  would  have  found  its  natural 
refuge  among  the  stanes^  or  rocks,  of  the  craggy 
moorlands  which  surround  the  *^  fortalice  of 
gledstanes."  As  far  back  as,  1296  Herbert  de 
Gledstane  figures  in  the  Ragman  Roll  as  one  of 
the  lairds  who  swore  fealty  to  Edward  I.  His 
descendants  for  generations  held  knightly  rank, 
and  bore  their  part  in  the  adventurous  life  of  the 
Border.  The  chief  stock  was  settled  at  Liberton, 
in  the  upper  part  of  Clydesdale.  It  was  a  family 
of  Scottish  lairds,  holding  large  estates  in  the 
sixteenth  century.  The  estate  dwindled,  and  in 
the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  passed 
out  of  their  hands,  except  the  adjacent  property  of 
Authurshiel,  which  remained  in  their  possession 
for  a  hundred  years  longer.  A  younger  branch 
of  the  family — the  son  of  the  last  of  the  Gledstanes 
of  Arthurshiel — after  many  generations,  came  to 


wmwm 

tJJJJJ.:K 

ITi  I  I  1,1  I  I  " 


Ancestry  and  Birth  21 

dwell  at  Biggar,  in  Lanarkshire,  where  he  con- 
ducted the  business  of  a  "  maltster,"  or  grain 
merchant. 

Here,  and  at  about  this  time,  the  name  was 
changed  to  Gladstones,  and  a  grandson  of  the 
maltster  of  Biggar,  Thomas  Gladstones,  settled  in 
Leith  and  there  became  a  "  corn-merchant."  He 
was  born  at  Mid  Toftcombs,  in  1732,  and  married 
Helen  Neilson,  of  Springfield.  His  aptitude  for 
business  was  so  great  that  he  was  enabled  to 
make  ample  provision  for  a  large  family  of 
sixteen  children.  His  son,  John  Gladstone,  was 
the  father  of  William  E-  Gladstone,  the  subject 
of  our  sketch. 

Some  have  ascribed  to  Mr.  Gladstone  an 
illustrious,  even  a  royal  ancestry,  through  his 
father's  marriage.  He  met  and  married  a  lovely, 
cultured  and  pious  woman  of  Dingwall,  in 
Orkney,  the  daughter  of  Andrew  Robertson, 
Provost  of  Dingwall,  named  Ann  Robertson, 
whom  the  unimpeachable  Sir  Bernard  Burke 
supplied  with  a  pedigree  from  Henry  IH,  king  of 
England,  and  Robert  Bruce,  of  Bannockburn, 
king  of  Scotland,  so  that  it  is  royal  English  and 
Scottish  blood  that  runs  in  the  veins  of 
Mr.  Gladstone. 

"This  alleged  illustrious  pedigree,"  says 
E.  B.  Smith,  in  his  elaborate  work  on  William 
E.  Gladstone,  "is  thus  traced:  Lady  Jane 
Beaufort,  who  was  a  descendant  of  Henry   III, 


22  William  E.  Gladstone 

married  James  I,  of  Scotland,  who  was  a  descend- 
ant of  Bruce.  From  this  alliance  it  is  said  that 
the  steps  can  be  followed  clearly  down  to  the 
father  of  Miss  Robertson.  A  Scottish  writer 
upon  genealogy,  also  referring  to  this  matter, 
states  that  Mr.  Gladstone  is  descended  on  the 
mother's  side  from  the  ancient  Mackenzie  of 
Kintail,  through  whom  is  introduced  the  blood 
of  the  Bruce,  of  the  ancient  Kings  of  Man,  and  of 
the  Lords  of  the  Isles  and  Earls  of  Ross ;  also 
from  the  Munros  of  Fowlis,  and  the  Robertsons 
of  Strowan  and  Athole.  What  was  of  more 
consequence  to  the  Gladstones  of  recent  genera- 
tions, however,  than  royal  blood,  was  the  fact 
that  by  their  energy  and  honorable  enterprise 
they  carved  their  own  fortunes,  and  rose  to 
positions  of  public  esteem  and  eminence.''  It 
has  been  their  pride  that  they  sprang  from  the 
ranks  of  the  middle  classes,  from  which  have 
come  so  many  of  the  great  men  of  England 
eminent  in  political  and  military  life. 

In  an  address  delivered  at  the  Liverpool 
Collegiate  Institute,  December  21,  1872,  Sir  John 
Gladstone  said :  '*I  know  not  why  the  commerce 
of  England  should  not  have  its  old  families  rejoic- 
ing to  be  connected  with  commerce  from  genera- 
tion to  generation.  It  has  been  so  in  other 
countries ;  I  trust  it  may  be  so  in  this  country. 
I  think  it  is  a  subject  of  sorrow,  and  almost  of 
scandal,   when   those   families   who  have  either 


Ancestry  and  Birth  23 

acquired  or  recovered  wealth  and  station  through 
commerce,  turn  their  backs  upon  it  and  seem  to 
be  ashamed  of  it.  It  certainly  is  not  so  with  my 
brother  or  with  me.  His  sons  are  treading  in 
his  steps,  and  one  of  my  sons,  I  rejoice  to  say, 
is  treading  in  the  steps  of  my  father  and  my 
brother." 

George  W.  E.  Russell,  in  his  admirable 
biography  of  Mr.  William  E.  Gladstone,  says,  ^^Sir 
John  Gladstone  was  a  pure  Scotchman,  a  low- 
lander  by  birth  and  descent.  Provost  Robertson 
belonged  to  the  Clan  Donachie,  and  by  this 
marriage  the  robust  and  business-like  qualities  of 
the  Lowlander  were  blended  with  the  poetic 
imagination,  the  sensibility  and  fire  of  the  Gael." 

An  interesting  story  is  told,  showing  how 
Sir  John  Gladstone,  the  father  of  William  E. 
Gladstone,  came  to  live  in  Liverpool,  and  enter 
upon  his  great  business  career,  and  where  he 
became  a  merchant  prince.  Born  at  Leith  in 
1 763,  he  in  due  time  entered  his  father's  business, 
where  he  served  until  he  was  twenty-one  years 
old.  At  that  time  his  father  sent  him  to  Liver- 
pool to  dispose  of  a  cargo  of  grain,  belonging  to 
him,  which  had  arrived  at  that  port.  His 
demeanor  and  business  qualities  so  impressed 
Mr.  Corrie,  a  grain  merchant  of  that  place,  that 
he  urged  his  father  to  let  him  settle  there.  Con- 
sent was  obtained  and  young  Gladstone  entered 
the   house   of  Corrie   &   Company   as  a   clerk. 


24  William  E.  Gladstone 

His  tact  and  shrewdness  were  soon  manifest, 
and  he  was  eventually  taken  into  the  firm  as  a 
partner,  and  the  name  of  the  house  became 
Corrie,  Gladstone  &  Bradshaw. 

John  Gladstone  on  one  occasion  proved  the 
temporary  preserver  of  the  firm  of  which  he 
had  become  a  member.  He  was  sent  to  America 
to  buy  grain  for  the  firm,  in  a  time  of  great 
scarcity  in  Europe,  owing  to  the  failure  of  the 
crops,  but  he  found  the  condition  of  things  the 
same  in  America.  There  was  no  grain  to  be 
had.  While  in  great  perplexity  as  to  what  to  do 
he  received  advices  from  Liverpool  that  twenty- 
four  vessels  had  been  dispatched  for  the  grain  he 
was  expected  to  purchase,  to  bring  it  to  Europe. 
The  prospect  was  that  these  vessels  would  have 
to  return  to  Europe  empty  as  they  had  come,  and 
the  house  of  Corrie  &  Company  be  involved 
thereby  in  ruin.  It  was  then  that  John  Gladstone 
rose  to  the  emergency  of  the  occasion,  and  by  his 
enterprise  and  energy  saved  himself  and  partners 
from  financial  failure,  to  the  great  surprise  and 
admiration  of  the  merchants  of  Liverpool.  It 
was  in  this  way:  He  made  a  thorough  exami- 
nation of  the  American  markets  for  articles  of 
commerce  that  could  be  sold  in  Europe  to 
advantage,  and  filling  his  vessels  with  them  sent 
them  home.  This  sagacious  movement  not  only 
saved  his  house,  but  gave  him  a  name  and  place 
a,mong  the  foremost  merchants  of  his  day.     His 


Ancestry  and  Birth  25 

name  was  also  a  synonym  for  push  and  integrity, 
not  only  on  the  Liverpool  exchange,  but  in 
London  and  throughout  all  England.  The 
business  of  the  firm  became  very  great  and  the 
wealth  of  its  members  very  large. 

During  the  war  with  Napoleon,  on  the  conti- 
nent, and  the  war  of  181 2  with  the  United  States, 
the  commerce  of  England,  as  mistress  of  the  seas, 
was  injured,  and  the  Gladstone  firm  suffered 
greatly  and  was  among  the  first  to  seek  peace,  for 
its  own  sake  and  in  the  interests  of  trade.  In  one 
year  the  commerce  of  Liverpool  declined  to  the 
amount  of  140,000  tons,  which  was  about  one- 
fourth  of  the  entire  trade,  and  there  was  a  decrease 
of  more  than  $100,000  in  the  dock-dues  of  that 
port.  John  Gladstone  was  among  those  who 
successfully  petitioned  the  British  government 
for  a  change  of  its  suicidal  policy  towards  the 
American  States.  / 

After  sixteen  years  of  successful  operations, 
during  a  part  of  which  time  it  had  been 
government  agent,  the  firm  was  dissolved  and 
its  business  was  continued  by  John  Gladstone. 
His  six  brothers  having  followed  him  from 
Leith  to  Liverpool,  he  took  into  partnership 
with  him  his  brother  Robert.  Their  business 
became  very  extensive,  having  a  large  trade  with 
Russia,  and  as  sugar  importers  and  West  India 
merchants.  John  Gladstone  was  the  chairman 
of  the  West  India  Association  and  took  an  active 


26  William  E.  Gladstone 

part  m  the  improvement  and  enlargement  of  tlie 
docks  of  Liverpool.  In  1 8 1 4,  when  the  monopoly 
of  the  East  India  Company  was  broken  and  the 
trade  of  India  and  China  thrown  open  to  compe- 
tition, the  firm  of  John  Gladstone  &  Company 
was  the  first  to  send  a  private  vessel  to  Calcutta, 

John  Gladstone  was  a  public-spirited  man 
and  took  great  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his 
adopted  city.  He  was  ever  ready  to  labor  for  its 
prosperity,  and  consequently  endeared  himself  to 
the  people  of  all  classes  and  conditions,  and  of 
every  shade  of  political  opinion. 

The  high  estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by 
the  citizens  of  Liverpool  was  especially  manifest 
October  18,  1824,  when  they  presented  him  with 
a  testimonial,  consisting  of  a  magnificent  service 
of  plate,  of  twenty-eight  pieces,  and  bearing  the 
following  inscription :  "7^^  John  Gladstone^ 
Esq.^  M.  P.^  this  service  of  plate  was  presented 
MDCCCXXIV,  by  his  fellow  townsmen  and 
friends^  to  mark  their  high  sense  of  his  successful 
exertions  for  the  promotion  of  trade  and  commerce^ 
and  in  acknowledgment  of  his  most  important 
services  rendered  to  the  town  of  Liverpool!*^ 

John  Gladstone,  though  devoted  to  commerce, 
had  time  for  literary  pursuits.  He  wrote  a 
pamphlet,  ^'  On  the  Present  State  of  Slavery  in 
the  British  West  Indies  and  in  the  United  States 
of  America ;  and  on  the  Importation  of  Sugar 
from   British  Settlements  in   India.'^     He   also 


Ancestry  and  Birth.  27 

published,  in  1830,  another  pamphlet,  containing 
a  statement  of  facts  connected  with  the  same 
general  subject,  ^'  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Sir 
Robert  Peel."  In  1846  he  published  a  pamphlet, 
entitled  "  Plain  facts  intimately  connected  with 
the  intended  Repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws ;  or 
Probable  Effects  on  the  Public  Revenue  and 
the  Prosperity  of  the  Country." 

From  the  subject  discussed  it  can  be  readily 
and  truly  imagined  that  John  Gladstone  had 
given  thought  to  political  subjects.  He  was  in 
favor  of  a  qualified  reform  which,  while  affording 
a  greater  enfranchisement  of  the  people,  looked 
also  to  the  interests  of  all.  Having  an  opinion, 
and  not  being  afraid  to  express  it,  he  was  fre- 
quently called  upon  to  address  public  meetings. 
The  matters  discussed  by  him  were,  however, 
rather  national  than  municipal,  rather  humane 
than  partisan.  He  was  a  strong  advocate  for 
certain  reforms  at  home  in  1818',  and  in  1823  on 
the  seas,  and  for  Greek  independence  in  1824. 
*^  On  the  14th  of  February,  1824,  a  public  meet- 
ing was  held  in  Liverpool  Town  Hall,  *  for  the 
purpose  of  considering  the  best  means  of  assisting 
the  Greeks  in  their  present  important  struggle 
for  independence.^  Mr.  Gladstone  spoke  im- 
pressively in  favor  of  the  cause  which  had  already 
evoked  great  enthusiasm  amongst  the  people,  and 
enlisted  the  sympathies  and  support  of  Lord 
Byron  and  other  distinguished  friends  of  freedom." 


28  William  E.  Gladstone 

It  was  in  1818  tliat  lie  addressed  a  meeting 
called  "  to  consider  the  propriety  of  petitioning 
Parliament  to  take  into  consideration  the  pro- 
gressive and  alarming  increase  in  the  crimes  of 
forging  and  uttering  forged  Bank  of  England 
notes."  The  penalties  for  these  crimes  were 
already  heavy,  but  their  infliction  did  not  deter 
men  from  committing  them,  and  these  crimes 
increased  at  an  enormous  rate.  Resolutions  were 
passed  at  the  Liverpool  meeting,  recommending 
the  revision  and  amendment  of  existing  laws. 

Then  again,  so  late  as  the  year  1823,  the 
navigation  between  Liverpool  and  Dublin  was 
in  a  lamentable  condition,  and  human  life  was 
recklessly  imperiled,  and  no  one  seemed  willing 
to  interfere  and  to  interest  himself  in  the  in- 
terests of  humanity.  It  was  then  that  he  again 
came  to  the  front  to  advocate  a  just  cause.  To 
illustrate  the  dangers  to  vessels  and  passengers, 
the  case  of  the  sloop  Alert  may  be  cited.  It  was 
wrecked  off  the  Welsh  coast,  with  between  100 
and  140  persons  on  board,  of  whom  only  seven- 
teen were  saved.  For  the  safety  and  rescue  of 
all  those  souls  on  board  this  packet-boat  there 
was  only  one  small  shallop,  twelve  feet  long.  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  impressed  with  the  terrible  nature 
of  the  existing  evil,  and  obtained  an  amendment 
to  the  Steamboat  Act,  requiring  imperatively  that 
every  passenger  vessel  should  be  provided  with 
boats    sufflcient    for    every    passenger    it     was 


ANCESTRY  AND  BiRTH  29 

licensed  to  carry.  By  this  wise  and  humane 
provision  thousands  of  lives  were  doubtless  saved 
that  would  otherwise  have  been  lost — the  victims 
of  reckless  seamanship  and  commercial  greed. 

John  Gladstone,  either  through  the  influence 
of  Mr.  Canning,  or  from  having  imbibed  some 
political  taste,  sat  in  the  House  of  Commons  nine 
years,  representing  Lancaster  in  1819,  Wood- 
stock from  182 1  to  1826,  and  Berwick  in  1827; 
but  he  never  would  consent  to  sit  in  Parliament 
for  the  city  of  Liverpool,  for  he  thought  that  so 
large  and  important  a  constituency  required 
peculiar  representation  such  as  he  was  unquali- 
fied to  give. 

He  was  the  warm  supporter  and  intimate 
friend  of  the  celebrated  Canning.  At  first  he 
was  a  Whig,  but  finally  came  to  support  Mr. 
Canning,  and  became  a  Liberal  Conservative. 
In  181 2  he  presided  over  a  meeting  at  Liver- 
pool, which  was  called  to  invite  Mr.  Canning  to 
represent  the  borough  in  Parliament,  After  the 
election  the  successful  candidates  were  claimed 
and  carried  in  procession  through  the  streets. 
The  procession  finally  halted  at  Mr.  Gladstone's 
house,  in  Rodney  Street,  from  the  balcony  of 
which  Mr.  Canning  addressed  the  populace.  His 
election  laid  the  foundation  of  a  deep  and  lasting 
friendship  between  Mr.  Canning  and  Mr.  Glad- 
stone. "At  this  time  the  son  of  the  latter  was 
but  three  years  of  age.     Shortly  afterwards — that 


30  William  E.  Gladstone 

is,  as  soon  as  lie  was  able  to  understand  anything 
of  public  men,  and  public  movements  and  events" 
— says  G.  B.  Smith,  "  the  name  of  Canning 
began  to  exercise  that  strange  fascination  over  the 
mind  of  William  Ewart  Gladstone  which  has 
never  wholly  passed  away,"  and  Mr.  Gladstone 
himself  acknowledged  that  he  was  brought  up 
^'  under  the  shadow  of  the  great  name  of 
Canning." 

John  Gladstone  presided  at  a  farewell  dinner 
given  by  the  Liverpool  Canning  Club,  in  August, 
1822,  in  honor  of  Mr.  Canning,  who  had  been 
Governor-General  of  India.  But  Mr.  Canning, 
instead  of  going  to  India,  entered  the  British 
Cabinet,  and  in  1827  became  Prime  Minister, 
and  John  Gladstone  moved  a  congratulatory 
address  to  the  king  upon  the  formation  of  the 
Canning  Ministry. 

In  1 845  John  Gladstone  was  created  a  baro- 
net by  Sir  Robert  Peel,  but  he  lived  to  enjoy  his 
deserved  honors  but  a  short  time,  for  he  died  in 
1 85 1,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-eight.  His 
motto  'had  ever  been,  "  Diligent  in  business." 
His  enormous  wealth  enabled  him  to  provide 
handsomely  for  his  family,  not  only  after  death, 
but  during  his  lifetime. 

At  the  time  of  his  father's  death,  William  E. 
Gladstone  was  still  an  adherent  of  the  Tory 
party,  yet  his  steps  indicated  that  he  was  advanc- 
ing towards   Liberalism ;    and  he  had  already 


Ancestry  and  Birth  31 

reached  distinction  as  a  statesman,  botli  in  Parlia- 
ment  and  in  the  Cabinet,  while  as  yet  he  was  but 
42  years  old,  which  was  about  half  of  his  age 
when  called  for  the  fourth  time  to  be  Prime 
Minister  of  England. 

Sir  John  Gladstone  and  his  wife  had  six 
children — four  sons,  Thomas  Gladstone,  after- 
wards baronet ;  John  Gladstone,  who  became  a 
captain,  and  died  in  1863  ;  Robert  Gladstone, 
brought  up  a  merchant,  who  died  in  1875,  and 
two  daughters,  Annie  McKenzie  Gladstone,  who 
died  years  ago,  and  Helen  Jane  Gladstone. 
William  E.  Gladstone  was  the  fourth  son. 
The  following  is  from  the  pen  of  the  son,  who 
says  of  his  aged  father.  Sir  John  Gladstone :  ''  His 
eye  was  not  dim,  nor  his  natural  force  abated  ;  he 
was  full  of  bodily  and  mental  vigor  ;  whatsoever 
his  hand  found  to  do  he  did  it  with  his  might ;  he 
could  not  understand  or  tolerate  those  who,  per- 
ceiving an  object  to  be  good,  did  not  at  once  and 
actively  pursue  it ;  and  with  all  this  energy  he 
gained  a  corresponding  warmth,  and,  so  to  speak, 
eagerness  of  affection,  a  keen  appreciation  of 
humor,  in  which  he  found  a  rest,  and  an  inde- 
scribable frankness  and  simplicity  of  character, 
which,  crowning  his  other  qualities,  made  him,  I 
think,  and  I  strive  to  think  impartially,  nearly  or 
quite  the  most  interesting  old  man  I  ever  knew." 

Personally,  Sir  John  Gladstone  was  a  man 
of  much  intelligence  and  of  sterling  principle,  of 


32  William  E.  Gladstone 

high  moral  and  religious  character,  and  his  house 
consequently  was  a  model  home.  "  His  house 
was  by  all  accounts  a  home  pre-eminently  cal- 
culated to  mould  the  thoughts  and  direct  the 
course  of  an  intelligent  and  receptive  nature. 
There  was  a  father's  masterful  will  and  keen  per- 
ception, the  sweetness  and  piety  of  the  mother, 
wealth  with  all  its  substantial  advantages  and  few 
of  its  mischiefs,  a  strong  sense  of  the  value  of 
rigid  avoidance  of  extravagance  and 
everywhere  a  strenuous  purpose  in 
life,  constant  employment,  and  concentrated 
ambition." 

Mrs.  John  Gladstone,  the  wife  and  mother, 
is  described  by  one  who  knew  her  intimately  as 
"  a  lady  of  very  great  accomplishinents  ;  of  fas- 
cinating manners,  of  commanding  presence  and 
high  intellect ;  one  to  grace  any  home  and 
endear  any  heart.'* 

The  following  picture  of  the  everyday  life  of 
the  family  is  interesting  and  instructive,  on 
account  of  Sir  John  Gladstone,  as  well  as  on  that 
of  his  more  distinguished  son,  and  is  from  the 
pen  of  an  eye-witness  :  "  Nothing  was  ever  taken 
for  granted  between  him  and  his  sons.  A  suc- 
cession of  arguments  on  great  topics  and  small 
topics  alike — arguments  conducted  with  perfect 
good  humor,  but  also  with  the  most  implicable 
logic — formed  the  staple  of  the  family  conversa- 
tion.    The   children   and  their  parents   argued 


Ancestry  and  Birth  33 

upon  everything.  They  would  debate  as  to 
whether  a  window  should  be  opened,  and  whether 
it  was  likely  to  be  fair  or  wet  the  next  day.  It 
was  all  perfectly  good-humored,  but  curious  to  a 
stranger,  because  of  the  evident  care  which  all  the 
disputants  took  to  advance  no  proposition,  even 
as  to  the  prospect  of  rain,  rashly." 

In  such  a  home  as  this  was  William  E. 
Gladstone  in  training  as  the  great  Parliamentary 
debater  and  leader,  and  for  the  highest  office 
under  the  British  crown.  This  reminds  us  of  a 
story  of  Burke,  The  king  one  day,  unexpectedly 
entering  the  office  of  his  minister,  found  the 
elder  Burke  sitting  at  his  desk,  with  his  eyes 
fixed  upon  his  young  son,  who  was  standing  on 
his  father's  desk  in  the  attitude  of  speaking. 
"  What  are  you  doing  ?  "  asked  the  astonished 
king.  "  I  am  making  the  greatest  minister 
England  ever  saw,"  was  the  reply.  And  so  in 
fact,  and  yet  all  unconsciously,  was  Sir  John 
doing  for  his  son,  William, 

William  E.  Gladstone  "  was  born,"  says  his 
biographer,  G.  W.  E.  Russell,  "at  a  critical 
moment  in  the  fortunes  of  England  and  of 
Europe.  Abroad  the  greatest  genius  that  the 
world  has  ever  seen  was  wading  through  slaugh- 
ter to  a  universal  throne,  and  no  effectual  resist- 
ance had  as  yet  been  offered  to  a  progress  which 
menaced  the  liberty  of  Europe  and  the  existence 
of  its  States.     At  home,  a   crazy  king    and    a 


34  William  E.  Gladstone 

profligate  heir-apparent  presided  over  a  social 
system  in  whicli  all  civil  evils  were  harmoniously 
combined.  A  despotic  administration  was  sup- 
ported by  a  parliamentary  representation  as 
corrupt  as  illusory  ;  a  church,  in  which  spiritual 
religion  was  all  but  extinct,  had  sold  herself  as  a 
bondslave  to  the  governing  classes.  Rank  and 
wealth  and  territorial  ascendency  were  divorced 
from  public  duty,  and  even  learning  had  become 
the  handmaid  of  tyranny.  The  sacred  name 
of  justice  was  prostituted  to  sanction  a  system 
of  legal  murder.  Commercial  enterprise  was 
paralyzed  by  prohibitive  legislation ;  public  credit 
was  shaken  to  its  base  ;  the  prime  necessaries  of 
life  were  ruinously  dear.  The  pangs  of  poverty 
were  aggravated  by  the  concurrent  evils  of  war 
and  famine,  and  the  common  people,  fast  bound 
in  misery  and  iron,  were  powerless  to  make  their 
sufferings  known  or  to  seek  redress,  except  by  the 
desperate  methods  of  conspiracy  and  insurrection. 
None  of  the  elements  of  revolution  were  wanting, 
and  the  fates  seemed  to  be  hurrying  England 
to  the  brink  of  a  civil  catastrophe. 

"  The  general  sense  of  insecurity  and  appre- 
hension, inseparable  from  such  a  condition  of 
affairs,  produced  its  effect  upon  even  the  robust 
minds.  Sir  John  Gladstone  was  not  a  likely 
victim  of  panic,  but  he  was  a  man  with  a  large 
stake  in  the  country,  the  more  precious  because 
acquired  by  his  own  exertion;  he  believed  that 


Ancestry  and  Birth  35 

the  safeguards  of  property  and  order  were  im- 
perilled by  foreign  arms  and  domestic  sedition ; 
and  he  had  seen  with  indignation  and  disgust 
the  excesses  of  a  factious  Whiggery,  which  was 
not  ashamed  to  exult  in  the  triumph  of  the 
French  over  the  English  Government.  Under 
the  pressure  of  these  influences  Sir  John  Glad- 
stone gradually  separated  himself  from  the 
Whigs,  with  whom  in  earlier  life  he  had  acted, 
and  became  the  close  ally  of  Canning,  whose 
return  for  Liverpool  he  actually  promoted." 

With  such  surroundings  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  William  E.  Gladstone  entered 
political  life  a  Tory,  contending  against  the 
principles  he  afterwards  espoused.  His  original 
bent,  however,  was  not  towards  politics,  but  the 
church  ;  and  it  was  only  at  the  earnest  desire  of 
his  father  that  he  ultimately  decided  to  enter 
Parliament,  and  serve  his  country  in  the 
Legislature. 

His  subsequent  life  proved  the  wisdom  of 
the  choice.  In  the  Legislature  of  his  country  was 
begun,  carried  on  and  consummated  grandly,  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  careers  in  the  annals  of 
history  for  versatility,  brilliancy,  solidity  and 
long  continuance.  Rarely  has  there  been  ex- 
hibited so  complete  a  combination  of  qualities  in 
statesmanship.  His  intellectual  endowments  were 
almost  without  a  parallel,  and  his  achievements 
without    a    precedent.     In    him    seemed    to  be 


3<5  William  E.  Gladstone 

centered  a  ricli  collection  of  the  highest  gifts  of 
genius,  great  learning  and  readiness  in  debate 
and  discourse  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and 
extraordinary  wisdom  in  the  administration  of 
the  affairs  of  the  nation.  His  financial  talent, 
his  business  aptitude,  his  classical  attainments, 
and  above  all  his  moral  fervor,  and  religious  spirit 
were  conspicuous.  Some  men  would  have  been 
contented  with  political  power,  or  classical  learn- 
ing, or  literary  distinction,  but  he  excelled  in  all 
these — not  only  as  a  statesman,  but  as  a  man  of 
letters  and  a  classical  scholar.  Neither  has  held 
him  exclusively  as  its  own — ^he  belongs  to  all,  or 
rather  they  belong  to  him — for  he  explored  and 
conquered  them.  His  literary  productions  equal 
in  merit  his  papers  of  State,  while  his  knowledge 
of  the  classics  would  do  credit  to  any  scholar. 

He  possessed  the  unusual  quality  of  throw- 
ing the  light  of  his  own  mind  on  the  greatest 
questions  of  national  and  international  import- 
ance, of  bringing  them  down  to  the  understand- 
ing and  appreciation  of  the  masses  of  the  people, 
of  infusing,  by  his  earnestness,  the  fire  of  his  own 
soul  in  the  people,  and  of  arousing  in  them  the 
greatest  enthusiasm. 

In  the  biography  of  this  wonderful  person 
we  propose  to  set  before  the  reader  the  man  him- 
self— his  words  and  his  deeds.  This  method 
enables  him  to  speak  for  himself,  and  thus  the 
reader    may   study   him   and    know    him,    and 


Ancestry  and  Birth  39 

because  thereof  be  lifted  into  a  higher  plane  of 
nobler  and  better  being.  The  acts  and  utterances 
of  such  a  character  are  his  best  biography,  and 
especially  for  one  differing  so  largely  from  all 
other  men  as  to  have  none  to  be  compared  with  him. 

In  this  record  we  simply  spread  before  the 
reader  his  private  life  and  public  services,  con- 
nected together  through  many  startling  changes, 
from  home  to  school,  from  university  to  Parlia- 
ment, from  Tory  follower  to  Liberal  leader,  from 
the  early  start  in  his  political  course  to  the  grand 
consummation  of  the  statesman's  success  in  his 
attainment  to  the  fourth  Premiership  of  this 
Grand  Old  Man,  and  the  glorious  end  of  an 
eventful  life. 

We  could  not  do  better,  in  closing  this 
chapter,  than  to  reproduce  a  part  of  the  character 
sketch  of  William  E.  Gladstone,  from  the  pen  of 
William  T.  Stead,  and  published  in  the  "  Review 
of  Reviews : " 

"  So  much  has  been  written  about  Mr.  Glad- 
stone that  it  was  with  some  sinking  of  heart  I 
ventured  to  select  him  as  a  subject  for  my  next 
character  sketch.  But  I  took  heart  of  grace  when 
I  remembered  that  the  object  of  these  sketches  is 
to  describe  their  subject  as  he  appears  to  himself 
at  his  best,  and  his  countrymen.  There  are  plenty 
of  other  people  ready  to  fill  in  the  shadows.  This 
paper  claims  in  no  way  to  be  a  critical  estimate  or 
a  judicial  summing  up  of  the  merits  and  demerits 


40  William  E.  Gladstone 

of  the  most  remarkable  of  all  living  EnglisHmen. 
It  is  merely  an  attempt  to  catcli,  as  it  were,  the 
outline  of  the  heroic  figure  which  has  dominated 
English  politics  for  the  lifetime  of  this  generation, 
and  thereby  to  explain  something  of  the  fascina- 
tion which  his  personality  has  exercised  and  still 
exercises  over  the  men  and  women  of  his  time. 
If  his  enemies,  and  they  are  many,  say  that  I 
have  idealized  a  wily  old  opportunist  out  of  all 
recognition,  I  answer  that  to  the  majority  of  his 
fellow-subjects  my  portrait  is  not  overdrawn. 
The  real  Gladstone  may  be  other  than  this,  but 
this  is  probably  more  like  the  Gladstone  foi 
whom  the  electors  believe  they  are  voting,  than 
a  picture  of  Gladstone,  ^  warts  and  all,'  would  be. 
And  when  I  am  abused,  as  I  know  I  shall  be,  for 
printing  such  a  sketch,  I  shall  reply  that  there  is 
at  least  one  thing  to  be  said  in  its  favor.  To 
those  who  know  him  best,  in  his  own  household, 
and  to  those  who  only  know  him  as  a  great  name 
in  history,  my  sketch  will  only  appear  faulty 
because  it  does  not  do  full  justice  to  the  character 
and  genius  of  this  extraordinary  man. 

"  Mr.  Gladstone  appeals  to  the  men  of  to-day 
from  the  vantage  point  of  extreme  old  age.  Age  is 
so  frequently  dotage,  that  when  a  veteran  appears 
who  preserves  the  heart  of  a  boy  and  the  happy 
audacity  of  youth,  under  the  ^  lyart  haffets  wear- 
ing thin  and  bare '  of  aged  manhood,  it  seems  as 
if  there  is  something  supernatural  about  it,  and 


Ancestry  and  Birth  41 

all  men  feel  the  fascination  and  the  charm.  Mr. 
Gladstone,  as  he  gleefully  remarked  the  other 
day,  has  broken  the  record.  He  has  outlived 
Lord  Palmerston,  who  died  when  eighty-one,  and 
Thiers,  who  only  lived  to  be  eighty.  The  blind 
old  Dandolo  in  Byron's  familiar  verse — 

The  octogenarian  chief,  Byzantium's  conquering  foe, 

had  not  more  energy  than  the  Liberal  leader, 
who,  now  in  his  eighty-third  year,  has  more 
nerve  and  spring  and  go  than  any  of  his  lieuten- 
ants, not  excluding  the  youngest  recruit.  There 
is  something  imposing  and  even  sublime  in  the 
long  procession  of  years  which  bridge  as  with 
eighty-two  arches  the  abyss  of  past  time,  and 
carry  us  back  to  the  days  of  Canning,  and  of 
Castlereagh,  of  Napoleon,  and  of  Wellington,  His 
parliamentary  career  extends  over  sixty  years  — 
the  lifetime  of  two  generations.  He  is  the  cus- 
todian of  all  the  traditions,  the  hero  of  the 
experience  of  successive  administrations,  from  a 
time  dating  back  longer  than  most  of  his  col- 
leagues can  remember.  For  nearly  forty  years 
he  has  had  a  leading  part  in  making  or  un- 
making of  Cabinets;  he  has  served  his  Queen 
and  his  country  in  almost  every  capacity  in  office 
and  in  opposition,  and  yet  to-day,  despite  his  pro- 
longed sojourn  in  the  malaria  of  political  wire- 
pulling, his  heart  seems  to  be  as  the  heart  of  a 
little  child.  If  some  who  remember  *  the  old 
Parliamentary  hand '  should  whisper  that  inno- 


42  William  E.  Gladstone 

cence  of  the  dove  is  sometimes  compatible  with 
the  wisdom  of  the  serpent,  I  make  no  dissent.  It 
is  easy  to  be  a  dove,  and  to  be  as  silly  as  a  dove.  It 
is  easy  to  be  as  wise  as  a  serpent,  and  as  wicked, 
let  us  say,  as  Mr.  Governor  Hill  or  Lord  Beacons- 
field.  But  it  is  the  combination  that  is  difficult, 
and  in  Mr.  Gladstone  the  combination  is  almost 
ideally  complete. 

"  Mr.  Gladstone  is  old  enough  to  be  the 
grandfather  of  the  younger  race  of  politicians,  but 
still  his  courage,  his  faith,  his  versatility,  put  the 
youngest  of  them  to  shame.  It  is  this  ebullience 
of  youthful  energy,  this  inexhaustible  vitalit}^, 
which  is  the  admiration  and  despair  of  his  con- 
temporaries. Surely  when  a  schoolboy  at  Eton 
he  must  somewhere  have  discovered  the  elixir  of 
life,  or  have  been  bathed  by  some  beneficent  fairy 
in  the  well  of  perpetual  youth.  Gladly  would 
many  a  man  of  fifty  exchange  physique  with  this 
hale  and  hearty  octogenarian.  Only  in  one 
respect  does  he  show  any  trace  of  advancing  years. 
His  hearing  is  not  quite  so  good  as  it  was,  but 
still  it  is  far  better  than  that  of  Cardinal  Manning, 
who  became  very  deaf  in  his  closing  years. 
Otherwise  Mr.  Gladstone  is  hale  and  hearty. 
His  eye  is  not  dim,  neither  is  his  natural  force 
abated.  A  splendid  physical  frame,  carefully 
preserved,  gives  every  promise  of  a  continuance 
of  his  green  old  age. 


Ancestry  and  Birth  43 

"His  political  opponents,  wlio  began  this  Par- 
liament by  confidently  calculating  upon  his  death 
before  the  dissolution,  are  now  beginning  to  admit 
that  it  is  by  no  means  improbable  that  Mr.  Glad- 
stone may  survive  the  century.  Nor  was  it  quite 
so  fantastic  as  it  appears  at  first  sight,  when  an 
ingenious  disciple  told  him  the  other  day  that  by 
the  fitness  of  things  he  ought  to  live  for  twenty 
years  yet.  ^  For,*  said  this  political  arithmetician, 
*  you  have  been  twenty-six  years  a  Tory,  twenty- 
six  years  a  Whig  Liberal,  and  you  have  been 
only  six  years  a  Radical  Home  Ruler.  To  make 
the  balance  even  you  have  twenty  years  still 
to  serve.* 

"  Sir  Provo  Wallis,  the  Admiral  of  the  Fleet, 
who  died  the  other  day  at  the  age  of  one 
hundred,  had  not  a  better  constitution  than 
Mr.  Gladstone,  nor  had  it  been  more  carefully 
preserved  in  the  rough  and  tumble  of  our  naval 
war.  If  the  man  who  smelt  powder  in  the  famous 
fight  between  the  Chesapeake  and  the  Shannon 
lived  to  read  the  reports  of  the  preparations  for 
the  exhibition  at  Chicago,  it  is  not  so  incredible 
that  Mr.  Gladstone  may  at  least  be  in  the  foretop 
of  the  State  at  the  dawn  of  the  twentieth  century. 

"  The  thought  is  enough  to  turn  the  Tories 
green  with  sickening  despair,  that  the  chances  of 
his  life,  from  a  life  insurance  ofl&ce  point  of  view, 
are  probably  much  better  than  Lord  Salisbury's. 
But  that  is  one  of  the  attributes  of  Mr.  Gladstone 


44 


William  E.  Gladstone 


wliicli  endear  him  so  mucli  to  tis  party.  He  is 
always  making  his  enemies  sick  with  despairing 
jealousy.  He  is  the  great  political  evergreen, 
who  seems,  even  in  his  political  life,  to  have 
borrowed  something  of  immortality  from  the 
fame  which  he  has  won.  He  has  long  been  the 
Grand  Old  Man.  If  he  lives  much  longer  he 
bids  fair  to  be  known  as  the  immortal  old  man  in 
more  senses  than  one." 


Gladstone's  Birthplace,  Rodney  Street,  Liverpool. 


CHAPTER  II 

At  Eton  and  Oxford 

>^Tf  HERE  is  very  little  recorded  of  the 
W  J  boyhood  of  some  great  men,  and  this  is 
fg^  trne  of  the  childhood  of  William  E. 
Gladstone,  until  he  leaves  the  parental 
home  for  school,  which  he  does  in  1 82 1 , 
at  the  early  age  of  eleven.  He  was  fortunate  in 
his  parentage,  but  no  less  so  in  his  early  associa- 
tions, both  in  and  out  of  school.  We  refer  par- 
ticularly to  his  private  preceptors,  two  of  whom, 
the  venerable  Archdeacon  Jones  and  the  Rev. 
William  Rawson,  first  Vicar  of  Seaforth,  a  water- 
ing-place near  Liverpool,  were  both  men  of  high 
character  and  great  ability.  Mr.  Gladstone 
always  highly  esteemed  Mr.  Rawson,  his  earliest 
preceptor,  and  visited  him  on  his  death-bed. 
Dr.  Turner,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Calcutta,  was 
for  two  years  young  Gladstone's  private  tutor, 
beginning  his  instruction  when  his  pupil  left 
Eton  in  1827. 

Besides  these  associations  of  his  early  life 
there  were  Canning,  a  frequent  visitor,  as   has 

45 


46  William  E.  Gladstone 

been  mentioned,  at  his  father's  house,  and 
Hannah  More — "  Holy  Hannah,"  as  Horace 
Walpole  called  her.  She  singled  out  "  Billy  " 
Gladstone  for  her  especial  pet  out  of  the  group 
of  eleven  children  in  whom  her  warm  heart 
delighted,  and  it  has  been  asked  wonderingly  if 
Miss  More  could  preternaturally  have  lengthened 
her  days  until  William  E.  Gladstone's  present 
glory,  whether  she  would  have  gone  on  dubbing 
him  "  Billy  "  in  undignified  brevity  until  the  end. 
William  E.  Gladstone,  when  very  young, 
gave  such  evidence  of  uncommon  intellectual 
ability  and  promise  of  future  greatness  that  his 
father  resolved  upon  educating  him  in  the  best 
schools  of  England.  There  are  four  or  five  great 
schools  in  England  in  which  the  English  youth 
are  prepared  in  four  or  five  years  for  Cambridge  or 
Oxford.  "  Eton,  the  largest  and  the  most  cele- 
brated of  the  public  schools  of  England,  ranks  as 
the  second  in  point  of  antiquity,  Winchester  alone 
being  older."  After  the  preparation  at  home, 
under  private  teachers,  to  which  we  have  referred, 
William  E.  Gladstone  was  sent  to  Eton,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1821.  His  biographer,  George  W.  E. 
Russell,  writes,  "  From  a  provincial  town, 
from  mercantile  surroundings,  from  an  atmos- 
phere of  money-making,  from  a  strictly 
regulated  life,  the  impressible  boy  was  trans- 
planted, at  the  age  of  eleven,  to  the  shadow 
of  Windsor  and  the  banks  of  the  Thames,  to  an 


AT  Eton  and  Oxford  4; 

institution  wHicli  belongs  to  history,  to  scenes 
haunted  by  the  memory  of  the  most  illustrious 
Englishmen,  to  a  free  and  independent  existence 
among  companions  who  were  the  very  flower  of 
English  boyhood.  A  transition  so  violent  and 
yet  so  delightful  was  bound  to  produce  an  im- 
pression which  lapse  of  time  was  powerless  to 
efface,  and  no  one  who  knows  the  man  and  the 
school  can  wonder  that  for  seventy  years  Mr. 
Gladstone  has  been  the  most  enthusiastic  of 
Etonians." 

Eton  of  to-day  is  not  in  all  respects  the  Eton 
of  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago,  and  yet  in 
some  particulars  it  is  as  it  was  when  young 
"  Billy  "  Gladstone  studied  within  its  walls.  The 
system  of  education  and  discipline  pursued  has 
undergone  some  modifications  in  recent  years — 
notably  during  the  provostship  of  the  Rev.  Francis 
Hodgson ;  but  radical  defects  are  still  alleged 
against  it.  It  is  not  remarkable,  however,  that 
every  Eton  boy  becomes  deeply  attached  to 
the  school,  notwithstanding  the  apprenticeship 
to  hardships  he  may  have  been  compelled  to 
undergo. 

The  ^'hardships''  there  must'  have  been 
particularly  great  when  young  Gladstone  entered 
Eton,  at  the  close  of  the  summer  holidays  of  1821. 
The  school  was  under  the  head-mastership  of 
"the  terrific  Dr.  Keate."  He  was  not  the  man 
to  spare  even  the  scholar  who,  upon  the  emphatic 


4B  William  E.  Gladstone 

testimony  of  Sir  Roderick  Murcliison,  was  '*  tlie 
prettiest  boy  that  ever  went  to  Eton,"  and  who 
was  as  stndions  and  well-behaved  as  he  was 
good-looking. 

The  town  of  Eton,  in  which  the  school  is 
located,  abont  22  miles  from  London,  in  Berk- 
shire, is  beantifnlly  situated  on  the  banks  of 
the  river  Thames,  opposite  Windsor  Castle,  the 
residence  of  the  Queen  of  England. 

Eton  College  is  one  of  the  most  famous  and 
best  endowed  educational  institutions  of  learning 
in  England.  It  was  founded  in  1440  by  Henry 
VI.  The  king  was  very  solicitous  that  the  work 
should  be  of  a  durable  kind,  and  he  provided  for 
free  scholarships.  Eton  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  day, 
according  to  a  critic,  was  divided  into  two  schools 
— the  upper  and  the  lower.  It  also  had  two  kinds 
of  scholars,  namely,  seventy  called  king's  scholars 
or  "  collegers,"  who  are  maintained  gratuitously, 
sleep  in  the  college,  and  wear  a  peculiar  dress ; 
and  another  class — the  majority — called  "oppi- 
dans," who  live  in  the  town.  Between  these  two 
classes  of  students  there  prevails  perpetual 
hostility.  At  Cambridge,  there  was  founded,  in 
connection  with  Eton,  what  is  called  King's 
College,  to  receive  as  fellows  students  from  Eton, 
and  to  give  them  gratuitously  an  education.  The 
ground  on  which  students  of  Eton  were  promoted 
to  King's  College  and  these  fellowships  was, 
strangely  to  say,  upon  that  of  seniority,  or  long 


At  Eton  and  Oxford  49 

residence,  and  not  of  merit.  Because  there  was 
no  competition,  scholars  who  were  deficient  in 
education  at  Eton  were  promoted  to  Cambridge, 
where  they  had  no  incentive  to  work,  being  exempt 
from  the  ordinary  university  examination. 

At  Eton  "  no  instruction  was  given  in  any 
branch  of  mathematical,  physical,  metaphysical 
or  moral  science,  nor  in  the  evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity. The  only  subjects  which  it  professed  to 
impart  a  knowledge  of  were  the  Greek  and  Latin 
languages ;  as  much  divinity  as  can  be  gained 
from  construing  the  Greek  Testament,  and  read- 
ing a  portion  of  Tomline  on  the  Thirty-nine 
Articles,  and  a  little  ancient  and  modem 
geography."  So  much  for  the  instruction  im- 
parted. As  regards  the  hours  of  tuition,  there 
seems  to  have  been  fault  there,  in  that  they  were 
too  few  and  insufficient,  there  being  in  all  only 
eleven  hours  a  week  study.  Then  as  to  the 
manner  of  study,  no  time  was  given  the  scholar 
to  study  the  style  of  an  author ;  he  was  ^'  hurried 
from  Herodotus  to  Thucydides,  from  Thucydides 
to  Xenophon,  from  Xenophon  to  Lucian,  without 
being  habituated  to  the  style  of  any  one  author — 
without  gaining  an  interest  in  the  history,  or 
even  catching  the  thread  of  the  narrative ;  and 
when  the  whole  book  is  finished  he  has  probably 
collected  only  a  few  vague  ideas  about  Darius 
crying  over  a  great  army,  Abydos  and  Nicias 
and  Demosthenes  beino-  routed  with  a  great  army 


50  William  E.  Gladstone 

near  Syracuse,  mixed  up  with  a  recollection  of 
the  death  of  Cyrus  and  Socrates,  some  moral  pre- 
cept from  Socrates,  and  some  jokes  against  false 
philosophers  and  heathen  gods."  Hence  the 
Eton  student  who  goes  to  Cambridge  finds  he 
has  done  but  a  little  desultory  reading,  and  that 
he  must  begin  again.  It  was  charged  that  the 
system  of  education  at  Eton  failed  in  every  point. 
The  moral  discipline  of  the  school  was  also  called 
in  question.  The  number  of  scholars  was  so 
great  that  the  proper  control  of  them  seemed 
impossible  under  the  management.  Great  laxity 
prevailed  among  the  larger  boys,  while  the  younger 
and  weaker  students  were  exposed  to  the  tyranny 
of  the  older  and  stronger  ones  without  hope  of 
redress.  The  result  was  that  the  system  of 
"  fagging,"  or  the  acting  of  some  boys  as  drudges 
for  the  others,  flourished.  "  The  right  "  of  fag- 
ging depended  upon  the  place  in  the  school ;  all 
boys  in  the  sixth  and  fifth  forms  had  the  power 
of  ordering — all  below  the  latter  form  being 
bound  to  obey.  This  system  of  fagging  has  a 
very  injurious  effect  upon  most  of  the  boys  ; 
"  it  finds  them  slaves  and  leaves  them  despots. 
A  boy  who  has  suffered  himself,  insensibly 
learns  to  see  no  harm  in  making  others  suffer 
in  turn.  The  whole  thing  is  wrong  in  principle, 
and  engenders  passions  which  should  be  stifled 
and  not  encouraged."  Why  free  and  enlightened 
England  should  tolerate,  even  then,  such  barbar- 


At  Eton  and  Oxford  51 

ous  slavery  cannot  be  understood  and  yet  there 
are  outrageous  customs  prevailing  among  college 
students  of  our  day  in  every  civilized  land  that 
should  be  suppressed. 

Flogging  was  in  vogue,  too,  at  Eton,  with  all 
its  degrading  and  demoralizing  effects,  and  was 
performed  by  the  Head-Master  himself.  In  1820, 
the  year  before  Mr.  Gladstone  entered  Eton,  there 
were  280  upper  students  and  319  lower,  a 
total  of  612,  and  none  were  exempt. 

Some  curious  stories  are  told  of  flogging, 
which  has  ever  existed  at  Eton,  and  from  which 
even  the  largest  boys  were  not  exempt.  Mr. 
Lewis  relates  how  a  young  man  of  twenty,  just 
upon  the  point  of  leaving  school,  and  engaged  to 
be  married  to  a  lady  at  Windsor,  was  well  and 
soundly  whipped  by  Dr.  Goodford,  for  arriving 
one  evening  at  his  tutor's  house  after  the  specified 
time.  And  it  is  related  that  Arthur  Wellesley, 
afterwards  the  Iron  Duke  of  Wellington,  was 
flogged  at  Eton  for  having  been  "barred  out." 
At  the  same  time  there  were  eighty  boys  who 
were  whipped. 

And  the  Eton  of  twenty  years  later  was  very- 
little  improved  over  its  condition  in  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's time  there,  or  in  1845.  J^^^  ^-  Lewis, 
speaking  of  this  period,  says  that  after  the  boys 
reached  the  fifth  form,  then  began  "  some  of  the 
greatest  anomalies  and  absurdities  of  the  then 
Etonian  system."    The    student  was  now  safe 


52  William  E.  Gladstone 

from  tlie  ordeal  of  examinations,  and  tHat  the 
higher  classes,  including  ten  senior  collegers  and 
ten  senior  oppidans,  contained  some  of  the  very 
worst  scholars.  "A  boy's  place  on  the  general 
roll  was  no  more  a  criterion  of  his  acquirements 
and  his  industry  than  would  be  the  ^  year '  of  a 
young  man  at  Oxford  or  Cambridge."  The 
collegers,  however,  were  required  to  pass  some 
kind  of  examination,  in  accordance  with  which 
their  place  on  the  list  for  the  King's  college  was 
fixed.  But  the  evils  regarding  the  hours  of  study 
and  the  nature  of  the  studies  were  as  bad.  "  The 
regular  holidays  and  Saints'  days,  two  whole 
holidays  in  a  week,  and  two  half-holidays,  were  a 
matter  of  common  occurrence." 

Lord  Morley,  in  his  examination  before  the 
Commission  on  Public  Schools,  was  asked  whether 
a  boy  would  be  looked  down  upon  at  Eton  for 
being  industrious  in  his  studies,  replied,  "  Not  if 
he  could  do  something  else  well."  And  this 
seems  to  be  the  spirit  of  the  Eton  boy  with  whom 
a  lack  of  scholarship  is  more  than  made  up  by 
skill  in  river  or  field  sports. 

This  is  true  to-day  ;  for  a  recent  writer  in  the 
Forum^  upon  "  The  Training  of  Boys  at  Eton," 
says  :  "  Athletic  prominence  is  in  English  public 
schools  almost  synonymous  with  social  promi- 
nence ;  many  a  boy  whose  capacity  and  character 
commanded  both  respect  and  liking  at  the 
unmrsities  and  in  after  lifcj  is  almost  a  nobody 


At  Eton  and  Oxford  53 

at  a  public  scliool,  because  lie  bas  no  special 
atbletic  gifts.  *  *  *  Great  atbletic  capacity 
may  co-exist  witb  low  moral  and  intellectual 
character." 

There  were  few  inducements  to  study  and 
to  excel  in  scholarship,  and  plenty  to  idleness 
and  neglect,  hence  he  who  did  so  must  study 
in  hours  and  out  of  hours,  in  season  and  out  of 
season.  The  curriculum  is  still  strictly  classical, 
iDut  French,  German  and  mathematics  are  taught. 
The  collegers  of  recent  years  have  done  very  fair 
work  and  carried  off  many  distinctions  at  Cam- 
bridge. With  all  these  odds  against  them,  and 
these  difficulties  to  surmount,  yet  there  were 
Eton  boys  whose  attainments  were  deep  and 
solid,  and  who  became  famous  men,  and  one  of 
these  was  William  E.  Gladstone. 

When  young  Gladstone  entered  Eton  his 
brothers,  Thomas  and  Robertson  Gladstone,  were 
already  there,  and  the  three  boys  boarded  at 
Mrs.  Shurey's,  whose  house  "  at  the  south  end  of 
the  broad  walk  in  front  of  the  schools  and 
facing  the  chapel,"  was  rather  nearer  the  famous 
"  Christopher  Inn  "  than  would  be  thought  de- 
sirable nowadays.  On  the  wall  opposite  the  house 
the  name  of  "  Gladstone "  is  carved.  Thomas 
Gladstone  was  in  the  fifth  form,  and  William 
was  placed  in  the  middle  remove  of  the  fourth 
form,  and  became  his  eldest  brother's  "  fag." 
This   doubtlessly   saved  him   much  annoyancQ 


54  William  E.  Gladstone 

and  suffering,  and  allowed  him  better  to  pursue 
the  studious  bent  of  his  indications. 

William  E.  Gladstone  was  what  Etonians 
called  a  ''  sap  " — in  other  words,  a  student  faithful 
in  the  discharge  of  every  duty  devolving  upon 
him  at  school — one  who  studied  his  lessons  and 
was  prepared  for  his  recitations  in  the  class- 
room. This  agreeable  fact  has  been  immortalized 
in  a  famous  line  in  Lord  Lytton's  "  New  Timon." 
He  worked  hard  at  his  classical  studies,  as 
required  by  the  rules  of  the  school,  and  applied 
himself  diligently  to  the  study  of  mathematics 
during  the  holidays. 

It  is  said  that  his  interest  in  the  work  of  the 
school  was  first  aroused  by  Mr.  Hawtrey,  who 
afterwards  became  Head-Master,  who  commended 
some  of  his  Latin  verses,  and  "  sent  him  up  for 
good."  This  led  the  young  man  to  associate 
intellectual  work  with  the  ideas  of  ambition  and 
success.  While  he  did  not  seem  to  be  especially 
an  apt  scholar  in  the  restricted  sense  for  original 
versification  in  the  classical  languages,  or  for 
turning  English  into  Greek  or  Latin,  yet  he 
seemed  to  seize  the  precise  meaning  of  the  au- 
thors and  to  give  the  sense.  "  His  composition 
was  stiff,"  but  yet,  says  a  classmate,  '^  when 
there  were  thrilling  passages  of  Virgil  or  Homer, 
or  difficult  passages  in  ^  Scriptores  Graeci '  to 
translate,    he    or    Lord    Arthur    Hervey    was 


Glimpses  of  Gladstone's  Earlier  Years. 


AR  Y 


i\t^ 


At  Eton  and  Oxford  57 

generally    called    up    to    edify   the   class   with 
quotations  or  translations.'^ 

He  had  no  prizes  at  Eton  except  what  is 
called  being  sent  up  for  good,  on  account  of 
verses,  and  he  was  honored  on  several  occasions. 
Besides  he  took  deep  interest  in  starting  a  college 
periodical,  and  with  some  of  the  most  intellectual 
of  the  students  sustained  it  with  his  pen.  The 
more  studious  of  Eton  boys  have  on  several 
occasions  in  the  present  century  been  in  the 
habit  of  establishing  periodicals  for  the  purpose 
of  ventilating  their  opinions.  In  1 786  Mr.  Can- 
ning and  Mr.  Hookham  Frere  established  the 
Microcosm^  whose  essays  ^ivAjeux  d^ esprit^  while 
having  reference  primarily  to  Eton,  demonstrated 
that  the  writers  were  not  insensible  to  what  was 
going  on  in  the  great  world  without.  It  was  for 
this  college  paper  that  Canning  wrote  his  "  Essay 
on  the  Epic  of  the  Queen  of  Hearts,"  which,  as  a 
burlesque  criticism,  has  been  awarded  a  high 
place  in  English  literature.  Lord  Henry  Spen- 
cer, Hookham  Frere,  Capel  Lofft,  and  Mr. 
Millish,  were  also  contributors  to  the  columns  of 
the  Microcosm.  In  the  year  1820  W.  Mack- 
worth  Praed  set  on  foot  a  manuscript  journal, 
entitled  Apis  Matina.  This  was  in  turn  suc- 
ceeded by  the  Etonian^  to  which  Praed  con- 
tributed some  of  his  most  brilliant  productions. 
John  Moultrie,  Henry  Nelson  Coleridge,  Walter 
Blunt,  and  Chauncy  Hare  Townshend  were  also 


58  William  e.  Gladstone 

among  the  writers  for  its  papers,  who  helped  to 
make  it  of  exceptional  excellence.  Its  articles 
are  of  no  ordinary  interest  even  now. 

In  the  last  year  of  William  E.  Gladstone's 
stay  at  Eton,  in  1827,  and  seven  years  after 
Praed's  venture,  he  was  largely  instrumental  in 
launching  the  Eton  Miscellany^  professedly 
edited  by  Bartholomew  Bouverie,  and  Mr. 
Gladstone  became  a  most  frequent,  voluminous 
and  valuable  contributor  to  its  pages.  He  wrote 
articles  of  every  kind — prologues,  epilogues, 
leaders,  historical  essays,  satirical  sketches, 
classical  translations,  humorous  productions, 
poetry  and  prose.  And  among  the  principal 
contributors  with  him  were  Sir  Francis  Doyle, 
George  Selwyn,  James  Colville,  Arthur  Hallam, 
John  Haumer  and  James  Milnes-Gaskell.  The 
introduction,  written  by  and  signed  ^'  William 
Ewart  Gladstone"  for  this  magazine,  contained 
the  following  interesting  and  singular  passage, 
which  probably  fairly  sets  forth  the  hopes  and 
fears  that  beset  statesmen  in  maturer  years,  as 
well  as  Eton  boys  of  only  seventeen  years  of  age  : 

"  In  my  present  undertaking  there  is  one 
gulf  in  which  I  fear  to  sink,  and  that  gulf  is 
Lethe.  There  is  one  stream  which  I  dread  my 
inability  to  stem — it  is  the  tide  of  Popular 
Opinion.  I  have  ventured,  and  no  doubt 
rashly  ventured — 

Like  little  wanton  boys  that  swim  on  bladders, 
To  \xy  my  fortune  in  a  sea  of  glory, 
Butiar  beyond  my  depth.' 


At  Eton  and  Oxford  59 

At  present  it  is  liope  alone  that  buoys  me  up ; 
for  more  substantial  support  I  must  be  indebted 
to  my  own  exertions,  well  knowing  that  in  this 
land  of  literature  merit  never  wants  its  reward. 
That  such  merit  is  mine  I  dare  not  presume  to 
think;  but  still  there  is  something  within  me 
that  bids  me  hope  that  I  may  be  able  to  glide 
prosperously  down  the  stream  of  public  estima- 
tion ;  or,  in  the  words  of  Virgil, 

' — Celerare  viam  rutnore  secundo.' 
"  I  was  surprised  even  to  see  some  works 
with  the  names  of  Shakespeare  and  Milton  on 
them  sharing  the  common  destiny,  but  on 
examination  I  found  that  those  of  the  latter  were 
some  political  rhapsodies,  which  richly  deserved 
their  fate  ;  and  that  the  former  consisted  of  some 
editions  of  his  works  which  had  been  burdened 
with  notes  and  mangled  with  emendations  by  his 
merciless  commentators.  In  other  places  I 
perceived  authors  worked  up  into  frenzy  by  see- 
ing their  own  compositions  descending  like  the 
rest.  Often  did  the  infuriated  scribes  extend 
their  hands,  and  make  a  plunge  to  endeavor  to 
save  their  beloved  offspring,  but  in  vain  ;  I  pitied 
the  anguish  of  their  disappointment,  but  with 
feelings  of  the  same  commiseration  as  that 
which  one  feels  for  a  malefactor  on  beholding  his 
death,  being  at  the  same  time  fully  conscious  how 
well  he  has  deserved  it." 


6o  William  E.  Gladstone 

Little  did  this  diffident  and  youthful  editor 
imagine  that  he  was  forecasting  the  future  for 
himself  by  the  aid  of  youth's  most  ardent  desires, 
and  that  he  would  live  to  become  the  Primate 
of  all  England  and  the  foremost  statesman  of 
his  day. 

There  were  two  volumes  of  the  Miscellany^ 
dated  June-July  and  October-November,  respect- 
ively, and  Mr.  Gladstone  contributed  thirteen 
articles  to  the  first  volume.  Among  the  con- 
tributions were  an  ''  Ode  to  the  Shade  of  Watt 
Tyler,"  a  vigorous  rendering  of  a  chorus  from  the 
Hucuba  of  Euripides,  and  a  letter  under  the  name 
of  "  Philophantasm,"  detailing  an  encounter  he 
had  with  the  poet  Virgil,  in  which  the  great  poet 
appeared  muttering  something  which  did  not 
sound  like  Latin  to  an  Eton  boy,  and  complain- 
ing that  he  knew  he  was  hated  by  the  Eton  boys 
because  he  was  difficult  to  learn,  and  pleading  to 
be  as  well  received  henceforth  as  Horace. 

We  give  a  quotation  from  a  poem,  consisting 
of  some  two  hundred  and  fift}''  lines,  from  his 
pen,  which  appeared  also  in  the  Miscellany  : 

"Who  foremost  now  the  deadly  spear  to  dart, 

And  strike  the  javelin  to  the  Moslem's  heart  ? 

Who  foremost  now  to  climb  the  leaguered  wall, 

The  first  to  triumph,  or  the  first  to  fall  ? 

IvO,  where  the  Moslems  rushing  to  the  fight, 

Back  bear  their  squadrons  in  inglorious  flight. 

With  plumed  helmet,  and  with  glittering  lance, 
'Tis  Richard  bids  his  steel-clad  bands  advance  ; 

'Xis  Richard  stalks  along  the  blood-dyed  plain, 


AT  Eton  and  Oxford  6i 

And  views  unmoved  the  slaying  and  the  slain  ; 
'Tis  Richard  bathes  his  hands  in  Moslem  blood, 
And  tinges  Jordan  with  the  purple  flood. 
Yet  where  the  timbrels  ring,  the  trumpets  sound. 
And  tramp  of  horsemen  shakes  the  solid  ground, 
Though  'mid  the  deadly  charge  and  rush  of  fight, 
No  thought  be  theirs  of  terror  or  of  flight, — 
Ofttimes  a  sigh  will  rise,  a  tear  will  flow% 
And  youthful  bosoms  melt  in  silent  woe  ; 
For  who  of  iron  frame  and  harder  heart 
Can  bid  the  mem'ry  of  his  home  depart? 
Tread  the  dark  desert  and  the  thirsty  sand, 
Nor  give  one  thought  to  England's  smiling  land  ? 
To  scenes  of  bliss,  and  days  of  other  years — 
The  Vale  of  Gladness  and  the  Vale  of  Tears  ; 
That,  passed  and  vanish' d  from  their  loving  sight. 
This  'neath  their  view,  and  wrapt  in  shades  of  night?  " 

Among  other  writers  who  contributed  to  the 
first  volume  of  the  Miscellany  were  Arthur 
Henry  Hallam  and  Doyle,  also  G.  A.  Selwyn, 
afterwards  Bishop  Selwyn,  the  friend  of  Mr. 
Gladstone,  and  to  whom  he  recently  paid  the 
following  tribute :  "  Connected  as  tutor  with 
families  of  rank  and  influence,  universally 
popular  from  his  frank,  manly,  and  engaging 
character — and  scarcely  less  so  from  his  extra- 
ordinary rigor  as  an  athlete — he  was  attached  to 
Eton,  where  he  resided,  with  a  love  surpassing 
the  love  of  Etonians.  In  himself  he  formed  a 
large  part  of  the  life  of  Eton,  and  Eton  formed  a 
large  part  of  his  life.  To  him  is  due  no  small 
share  of  the  beneficial  movement  in  the  direction 
of  religious  earnestness  which  marked  the  Eton 
of  forty  years  back,  and  which  was  not,  in  my 


62  William  e.  Gladstone 

opinion,  sensibly  affected  by  any  influence 
extraneous  to  the  place  itself.  At  a  moment's 
notice,  upon  the  call  of  duty,  he  tore  up  the 
singularly  deep  roots  which  his  life  had  struck 
deep  into  the  soil  of  England." 

Both  Mr.  Gladstone  and  the  future  Bishop 
of  Selwyn  contributed  humorous  letters  to  ^'  The 
Postman,"  the  correspondence  department  of  the 
Eton  Miscellany, 

In  the  second  volume  of  the  Eton  Miscellany 
are  articles  of  equal  interest  to  those  that 
appeared  in  the  first.  Doyle,  Jelf,  Selwyn,  Shad- 
well  and  Arthur  Henry  Hallam  were  contribu- 
tors, the  latter  having  written  "  The  Battle  of  the 
Boyne,"  a  parody  upon  Campbell's  ''  Hohen- 
linden."  But  here  again  Mr.  Gladstone  was  the 
principal  contributor,  having  contributed  to  this 
even  more  largely  than  to  the  first,  having 
written  seventeen  articles,  besides  the  introduc- 
tions to  the  various  numbers  of  the  volume. 
Indeed  one  would  think  from  his  devotion  to 
these  literary  pursuits  during  his  last  year  at 
Eton,  that  he  had  very  little  leisure  for  those 
ordinary  sports  so  necessary  to  Eton  boys.  He 
seems  to  have  begun  his  great  literary  activity. 
Among  them  may  be  mentioned  an  "  Ode  to  the 
Shade  of  Watt  Tyler,"  mentioned  before,  which  is 
an  example  of  his  humorous  style  ; 


AT  Eton  and  Oxford  6| 

''Shade  of  him  whose  valiant  tongue 
On  high  the  song  of  freedom  sung  ; 
Shade  of  him,  whose  mighty  soul 
iff        Would  pay  no  taxes  on  his  poll ; 

Though,  swift  as  lightning,  civic  sword 

Descended  on  thy  fated  head, 
The  blood  of  England's  boldest  poured, 
And  numbered  Tyler  with  the  dead ! 

**  Still  may  thy  spirit  flap  its  wings 
At  midnight  o'er  the  couch  of  kings  ; 
And  peer  and  prelate  tremble,  too, 
In  dread  of  mighty  interview  ! 
With  patriot  gesture  of  command, 

With  eyes  that  like  thy  forges  gleam, 
I^st  Tyler's  voice  and  Tyler's  hand 

Be  heard  and  seen  in  nightly  dream. 

**  I  hymn  the  gallant  and  the  good 
From  Tyler  down  to  Thistlewood, 
My  muse  the  trophies  grateful  sings, 
The  deeds  of  Miller  and  of  Ings ; 
She  sings  of  all  who,  soon  or  late, 

Have  burst  Subjection's  iron  chain, 
Have  seal'd  the  bloody  despot's  fate, 
Or  cleft  a  peer  or  priest  in  twain. 

*'  Shades,  that  soft  Sedition  woo. 
Around  the  haunts  of  Peterloo  ! 
That  hover  o'er  the  meeting-halls. 
Where  many  a  voice  stentorian  bawls  ! 
Still  flit  the  sacred  choir  around, 

With  '  Freedom  '  let  the  garrets  ring, 
And  vengeance  soon  in  thunder  sound 
On  Church,  and  constable,  and  king." 

In  a  paper  on  "  Eloquence,"  in  the  same 
volume,  he  shows  that  even  then  his  young  mind 
was  impressed  by  the  fame  attached  to  successful 
oratory  in  Parliament.  Visions  of  glory  and 
honor  open  before  the  enraptured  sight  of  those. 


64  William  E.  Gladstone 

devoted  to  oratorical  pursuits,  and  whose  ardent 
and  aspiring  minds  are  directed  to  the  House  of 
Commons.  Evidently  the  young  writer  himself 
"  had  visions  of  parliamentary  oratory,  and  of  a 
successful  debut  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
with  perhaps  an  offer  from  the  Minister,  a 
Secretaryship  of  State,  and  even  the  Pre- 
miership  itself  in  the  distance."  But  then 
there  are  barriers  to  pass  and  ordeals  to  under- 
go. "  There  are  roars  of  coughing,  as  well  as 
roars  of  cheering "  from  the  members  of  the 
House,  ^'  and  maiden  speeches  sometimes  act 
more  forcibly  on  the  lungs  of  hearers  than 
the  most  violent  or  most  cutting  of  all  the 
breezes  which  ^OLUS  can  boast."  But  the 
writer  draws  comfort  from  the  fact  that  Lord 
Morfeth,  Edward  Geoffrey,  Stanley  and  Lord 
Castlereagh,  who  were  all  members  of  the  Eton 
college  debating  society,  were  then  among  the 
most  successful  young  speakers  in  Parliament. 
This  sounds  more  like  prophecy  than  dreams,  for 
within  a  very  few  years  after  writing  this  article 
the  writer  himself  had  passed  the  dreaded  barrier 
and  endured  the  ordeal,  and  had  not  only  made 
his  appearance  in  the  House  of  Commons,  but 
had  been  invited  to  fill  an  honorable  place  in  the 
Cabinet  of  the  Ministry  then  in  power. 

Another  contribution  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  to 
the  Miscellany^  and  perhaps  the  most  meritorious 
of  the  youthful  writer's  productions,  was  entitled, 


At  Eton  and  Oxford  65 

"  Ancient  and  Modern  Genius  Compared,"  in 
which  the  young  Etonian  editor  ardently  and 
affectionately  apostrophized  the  memory  of 
Canning,  his  father's  great  friend  and  his  own 
ideal  man  and  statesman,  who  had  just  then 
perished  untimely  and  amid  universal  regret. 
In  this  article  he  first  takes  the  part  of  the 
moderns  as  against  the  ancients,  though  he  by 
no  means  deprecates  the  genius  of  the  latter,  and 
then  eloquently  apostrophizes  the  object  of  his 
youthful  hero-worship,  the  immortal  Canning, 
whose  death  he  compares  to  that  of  the  lamented 
Pitt.  The  following  are  extracts  from  this 
production : 

"  It  is  for  those  who  revered  him  in  the 
plenitude  of  his  meridian  glory  to  mourn  over 
him  in  the  darkness  of  his  premature  extinction : 
to  mourn  over  the  hopes  that  are  buried  in  his 
grave,  and  the  evils  that  arise  from  his  with- 
drawing from  the  scene  of  life.  Surely  if 
eloquence  never  excelled  and  seldom  equalled — if 
an  expanded  mind  and  judgment  whose  vigor 
was  paralleled  only  by  its  soundness — if  brilliant 
wit — if  a  glowing  imagination — if  a  warm  heart, 
and  an  unbending  firmness — could  have  strength- 
ened the  frail  tenure,  and  prolonged  the 
momentary  duration  of  human  existence,  that 
man  had  been  immortal !  But  nature  could 
endure  no  longer.  Thus  has  Providence  ordained 
that  inasmuch  as  the  intellect  is  more  brilliant^ 


66  William  E.  Gladstone 

it  sliall  be  more  short-lived ;  as  its  sphere  is  more 
expanded,  more  swiftly  is  it  summoned  away. 
Lest  we  should  give  to  man  the  honor  due  to 
God — lest  we  should  exalt  the  object  of  our 
admiration  into  a  divinity  for  our  worship — He 
who  calls  the  weary  and  the  mourner  to  eternal 
rest  hath  been  pleased  to  remove  him  from 
our  eyes. 

"  The  degrees  of  inscrutable  wisdom  are 
unknown  to  us  ;  but  if  ever  there  was  a  man  for 
whose  sake  it  was  meet  to  indulge  the  kindly 
though  frail  feelings  of  our  nature — for  whom 
the  tear  of  sorrow  was  to  us  both  prompted  by 
affection  and  dictated  by  duty — that  man  was 
George  Canning." 

After  Hallam,  Selwyn  and  other  contribu- 
tors to  the  Miscellany  left  Eton,  at  mid- 
summer, 1827,  ^^-  Gladstone  still  remained 
and  became  the  mainstay  of  the  magazine 
"  Mr.  Gladstone  and  I  remained  behind  as  its 
main  supporters,"  writes  Sir  Francis  Doyle,  "  or 
rather  it  would  be  more  like  the  truth  if  I  said 
that  Mr.  Gladstone  supported  the  whole  burden 
upon  his  own  shoulders.  I  was  unpunctual  and 
unmethodical,  so  were  his  other  vassals  ;  and  the 
*  Miscellany '  would  have  fallen  to  the  ground  but 
for  Mr.  Gladstone\s  untiring  energy,  pertinacity 
and  tact." 

Although  Mr.  Gladstone  labored  in  editorial 
work  upon  the  Miscellany,  yet  he  took  time  to 


At  Eton  and  Oxford  67 

bestow  attention  upon  his  duties  in  the  Eton 
Society  of  the  College,  learnedly  called  '^  The 
Literati,"  and  vulgarly  called  "  Pop,"  and  took 
a  leading  part  in  the  debates  and  in  the  private 
business  of  the  Society.  The  Eton  Society  of 
Gladstone's  day  was  a  brilliant  group  of  boys. 
He  introduced  desirable  new  members,  moved  for 
more  readable  and  instructive  newspapers,  pro- 
posing new  rules  for  better  order  and  more  de- 
corous conduct,  moving  fines  on  those  guilty  of 
disorder  or  breaches  of  the  rules,  and  paying  a 
fine  imposed  upon  himself  for  putting  down  an 
illegal  question.  "  In  debate  he  champions 
the  claims  of  metaphysics  against  those  of 
mathematics,  and  defends  aristocracy  against 
democracy  ;  "  confesses  innate  feelings  of  dislike 
to  the  French ;  protests  against  disarmament  of 
the  Highlanders  as  inexpedient  and  unjust; 
deplores  the  fate  of  Strafford  and  the  action  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  which  he  claimed  they 
should  be  able  to  ''  revere  as  our  glory  and  con- 
fide in  as  our  protection."  The  meetings  of  the 
Eton  Society  were  held  over  Miss  Hatton's 
"  sock-shop." 

In  politics  its  members  were  Tory — intensely 
so,  and  although  current  politics  were  forbidden 
subjects,  yet,  political  opinions  were  disclosed  in 
discussions  of  historical  or  academical  questions. 
"The  execution  of  Strafford  and  Charles  I, 
the  characters  of  Oliver  Cromwell   and  Milton 


68  WILLIAM  E.  GLADSTONE 

tlie  ^  Central  Social '  of  Rousseau,  and  tHe  events 
of  the  Frencli  Revolution,  laid  bare  the  speakers' 
political  tendencies  as  effectually  as  if  the  conduct 
of  Queen  Caroline,  the  foreign  policy  of  Lord 
Castlereagh,  or  the  repeal  of  the  Test  and  Cor- 
poration Act  had  been  the  subject  of  debate." 

It  was  October  15,  1825,  when  Gladstone 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  Eton  Society,  and  on 
the  29th  of  the  same  month  made  his  maiden 
speech  on  the  question  "  Is  the  education  of  the 
poor  on  the  whole  beneficial  ?  "  It  is  recorded  in 
the  minutes  of  the  meeting  that  "  Mr.  Gladstone 
rose  and  eloquently  addressed  the  house."  He 
spoke  in  favor  of  education  ;  and  one  who  heard 
him  says  that  his  opening  words  were,  "  Sir,  in 
this  age  of  increased  and  increasing  civilization." 
Says  an  eminent  writer,  by  way  of  comment  upon 
these  wordSe  "  It  almost  oppresses  the  im- 
agination to  picture  the  shoreless  sea  of  eloquence 
which  rolls  between  that  exordium  and  the 
oratory  to  which  we  still  are  listening  and  hope 
to  listen  for  years  to  come." 

"  The  peroration  of  his  speech  on  the  ques- 
tion whether  Queen  Anne's  Ministers,  in  the  last 
four  years  of  her  reign,  deserved  well  of  their 
country,  is  so  characteristic,  both  in  substance 
and  in  form,"  that  we  reproduce  it  here  from 
Dr.  Russell's  work  on  Gladstone  : 

"  Thus  much,  sir,  I  have  said,  as  conceiving 
myself  bound  in  fairness  not  to  regard  the  names 


At  Eton  and  Oxford  69 

under  which  men  have  hidden  their  designs  so 
much  as  the  designs  themselves.  I  am  well 
aware  that  my  prejudices  and  my  predilections 
have  long  been  enlisted  on  the  side  of  Toryism 
(cheers)  and  that  in  a  cause  like  this  I  am  not 
likely  to  be  influenced  unfairly  against  men 
bearing  that  name  and  professing  to  act  on  the 
principles  which  I  have  always  been  accustomed 
to  revere.  But  the  good  of  my  country  must 
stand  on  a  higher  ground  than  distinctions  like 
these.  In  common  fairness  and  in  common  can- 
dor, I  feel  myself  compelled  to  give  my  decisive 
verdict  against  the  conduct  of  men  whose  meas- 
ures I  firmly  believe  to  have  been  hostile  to 
British  interests,  destructive  of  British  glory,  and 
subversive  of  the  splendid  and,  I  trust,  lasting 
fabric  of  the  British  constitution." 

The  following  extracts  from  the  diary  of 
William  Cowper,  afterwards  Lord  Mount-Temple, 
we  also  reproduce  from  the  same  author :  "  On 
Saturday,  October  27,  1827,  ^^^  subject  for 
debate  was  : 

"  '  Whether  the  deposition  of  Richard  II  was 
justifiable  or  not.'  Jelf  opened ;  not  a  good 
speech.  Doyle  spoke  extempore^  made  several 
mistakes,  which  were  corrected  by  Jelf.  Glad- 
stone spoke  well.  The  Whigs  were  regularly 
floored;  only  four  Whigs  to  eleven  Tories,  but 
they  very  nearly  kept  up  with  them  in  coughing 
and  ^  hear,  hears.'     Adjourned  to  Monday  after  4, 


JO  William  E.  Gladstone 

"  Monday,  29. — Gladstone  finished  Hs  speecli, 
and  ended  with  a  great  deal  of  flattery  of  Doyle, 
saying  that  he  was  sure  he  would  have  courage 
enough  to  own  that  he  was  wrong.  It  succeeded. 
Doyle  rose  amidst  reiterated  cheers  to  own  that 
he  was  convinced  by  the  arguments  of  the  other 
side.  He  had  determined  before  to  answer  them 
and  cut  up  Gladstone ! 

"December  i. — Debate, '  Whether  the  Peerage 
Bill  of  1 7 19  was  calculated  to  be  beneficial  or  not.' 
Thanks  voted  to  Doyle  and  Gladstone  ;  the  latter 
spoke  well ;  will  be  a  great  loss  to  the  Society." 

There  were  many  boys  at  Eton — school- 
fellows of  Mr.  Gladstone — who  became  men  of 
note  in  after  days.  Among  them  the  Hallams, 
Charles  Canning,  afterwards  Lord  Canning  and 
Governor-General  of  India ;  Walter  Hamilton, 
Bishop  of  Salisbury ;  Edward  Hamilton,  his 
brother,  of  Charters ;  James  Hope,  afterwards 
Hope-Scott ;  James  Bruce,  afterwards  Lord  Elgin  ; 
James  Milnes-Gaskell,  M.  P.  for  Wenlock ;  Henry 
Denison;  Sir  Francis  Doyle;  Alexander  King- 
lake  ;  George  Selwyn,  Bishop  of  New  Zealand 
and  of  Litchfield ;  Lord  Arthur  Hervey,  Bishop 
of  Bath  and  Wells  ;  William  Cavendish,  Duke 
of  Devonshire  ;  George  Cornwallis  Lewis  ;  Fred- 
eric Tennyson ;  Gerald  Wellesley,  Dean  of  Wind- 
sor ;  Spencer  Walpole,  Home  Secretary  ;  Frederic 
Rogers,  Lord  Blachford;  James  Colvile,  Chief 
Justice  at  Calcutta,  and  others. 


At  Eton  and  Oxford  71 

By  universal  acknowledgment  the  most  re- 
markable youth  at  Eton  in  that  day  was  Arthur 
Hallam,  "  in  mind  and  character  not  unworthy 
of  the  magnificent  eulogy  of  '  In  Memoriam.' " 
He  was  the  most  intimate  friend  of  young  Glad- 
stone. They  always  took  breakfast  together, 
although  they  boarded  apart  in  different  houses, 
and  during  the  separation  of  vacations  they  were 
diligent  correspondents. 

The  father  of  William  E.  Gladstone,  as  we 
have  seen,  discovered  premonitions  of  future 
greatness  in  his  son,  and  we  may  well  ask  the 
question  what  impression  was  made  by  him  upon 
his  fellow  school-mates  at  Eton.  Arthur  Hallam 
wrote :  "  Whatever  may  be  our  lot,  I  am  confident 
chat  ^^  is  a  bud  that  will  bloom  with  a  richer 
fragrance  than  almost  any  whose  early  promise 
I  have  witnessed." 

James  Milnes-Gaskell  says  :  "  Gladstone  is 
110  ordinary  individual ;  and  perhaps  if  I  were 
called  on  to  select  the  individual  I  am  intimate 
with  to  whom  I  should  first  turn  in  an  emergency, 
and  whom  I  thought  in  every  way  pre-eminently 
distinguished  for  high  excellence,  I  think  I 
should  turn  to  Gladstone.  If  you  finally  decide 
in  favor  of  Cambridge,  my  separation  from 
Gladstone  will  be  a  source  of  great  sorrow  to 
me."  And  the  explanation  of  this  latter  remark 
is  that  the  writer^s  mother  wanted  him  to  go  to 


72  William  E.  Gladstone 

Cambridge,  while  he  wished  to  go  to  Oxford, 
because  Gladstone  was  going  there. 

Sir  Francis  Doyle  writes  :  "I  may  as  well 
remark  that  my  father,  a  man  of  great  ability,  as 
well  as  of  great  experience  of  life,  predicted  Glad- 
stone's future  eminence  from  the  manner  in  which 
he  handled  this  somewhat  tiresome  business. 
[The  editorial  work  and  management  of  the 
Eton  Miscellany?^  ^  It  is  not '  he  remarked,  *  that 
I  think  his  papers  better  than  yours  or  Hallam's 
— that  is  not  my  meaning  at  all ;  but  the  force  of 
character  he  has  shown  in  managing  his  sub- 
ordinates, and  the  combination  of  ability  and 
power  that  he  has  made  evident,  convince  me 
that  such  a  young  man  cannot  fail  to  distinguish 
himself  hereafter." 

The  recreations  of  young  Gladstone  were 
not  in  all  respects  like  his  school-mates.  He 
took  no  part  in  games,  for  he  had  no  taste  in 
that  direction,  and  while  his  companions  were 
at  play  he  was  studiously  employed  in  his  room. 
One  of  the  boys  afterwards  declared,  ^'without 
challenge  or  contradiction,  that  he  was  never 
seen  to  run."  Yet  he  had  his  diversions  and 
was  fond  of  sculling,  and  kept  a  ^'  lock-up,"  or 
private  boat,  for  his  own  use.  He  liked  walking 
for  exercise,  and  walked  fast  and  far.  His 
chief  amusement  when  not  writing,  reading  or 
debating,  was  to  ramble  among  the  delights 
of  Windsor  with  a  few  intimate  friends;    and 


At  Eton  and  Oxford  75 

lie  had  only  a  few  whom  he  admitted  to  his 
inner  circle.  To  others  beyond  he  was  not  known 
and  was  not  generally  popular.  Gladstone, 
Charles  Canning,  Handley,  Bruce,  Hodgson, 
lyord  Bruce  and  Milnes-Gaskell  set  up  a  Salt 
Hill  Club.  They  met  every  whole  holiday  or 
half-holiday,  as  was  convenient,  after  twelve,  "and 
went  up  to  Salt  Hill  to  bully  the  fat  waiter,  eat 
toasted  cheese,  and  drink  egg-wine."  It  is  start- 
ling to  hear  from  such  an  authority  as  James 
Milnes-Gaskell  that  "  in  all  our  meetings,  as  well 
as  at  almost  every  time,  Gladstone  went  by  the 
name  of  Mr.  Tipple.'' 

The  strongest  testimony  is  borne  to  the 
moral  character  of  young  Gladstone  while  at 
Eton.  By  common  consent  he  was  pre-emi- 
nently God-fearing,  orderly  and  conscientious. 
Bishop  Hamilton,  of  Salisbury,  writes :  "  At 
Eton  I  was  a  thoroughly  idle  boy ;  but  I  was 
saved  from  some  worse  things  by  getting  to 
know  Gladstone.'*  This  is  the  strong  testimony 
of  one  school-boy  after  he  has  reached  maturity 
and  distinction  for  another.  "  To  have  exercised, 
while  still  a  school-boy,  an  influence  for  good 
upon  one  of  the  greatest  of  contemporary  saints, 
is  surely  such  a  distinction  as  few  Prime  Minis- 
ters ever  attain." 

Two  stories  are  told  of  him  while  at  Eton 
that  go  to  show  the  moral  determination  of  the 
boy  to  do  right.     On  one  occasion  he  turned  his 


76  William  E.  Gladstone 

glass  upside  down  and  refused  to  drink  a  coarse 
toast  proposed,  according  to  annual  custom,  at 
an  election  dinner  at  tlie  "  Christopher  Inn." 
This  shows  the  purity  of  his  mind,  but  there  is 
another  illustrating  the  humane  feeling  in  his 
heart.  He  came  forth  as  the  champion  of  some 
miserable  pigs  which  it  was  the  inhumane  cus- 
tom to  torture  at  Eton  Fair  on  Ash  Wednesday, 
and  when  he  was  bantered  by  his  school-fellows 
for  his  humanity,  he  offered  to  write  his  reply 
"  in  good  round  hand  upon  their  faces." 

At  Christmas,  1827,  Gladstone  left  Eton, 
and  after  that  studied  six  months  under  private 
tutors,  Dr.  Turner,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Calcutta, 
being  one.  Of  this  Mr.  Gladstone  writes :  "I 
resided  with  Dr.  Turner  at  Wilmslow  (in  Che- 
shire) from  January  till  a  few  months  later.  My 
residence  with  him  was  cut  off  by  his  appoint- 
ment to  the  Bishopric  of  Calcutta.  .  *  .  My 
companions  were  the  present  (1877)  Bishop  of 
Sodor  and  Man,  and  Sir  C.  A.  Wood,  Deputy- 
Chairman  of  the  G.  W.  Railway.  We  employed 
our  spare  time  in  gymnastics,  in  turning,  and  in 
rambles.  I  remember  paying  a  visit  to  Maccles- 
field. In  a  silk  factory  the  owner  showed  us  his 
silk  handkerchiefs,  and  complained  much  of  Mr. 
Huskisson  for  having  removed  the  prohibition  of 
the  foreign  article.  The  thought  passed  through 
my  mind  at  the  time  :  Why  make  laws  to  enable 
people  to  produce  articles  of  such  hideous  pattern 


At  Eton  and  Oxford  77 

and  indifferent  quality  as  this  ?  Alderly  Edge  was 
a  favorite  place  of  resort.  We  dined  with  Sir 
John  Stanley  (at  Alderly)  on  the  day  when  the 
king^s  speech  was  received ;  and  I  recollect  that 
he  ridiculed  (I  think  very  justly)  the  epithet 
untoward^  which  was  applied  in  it  to  the  Battle 
of  Navarino." 

In  1828,  and  after  two  years  as  a  private 
pupil  of  Dr.  Turner,  Mr.  Gladstone  entered 
Christ  Church  College,  Oxford,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  was  nominated  to  a  studentship  on 
the  foundation.  Although  he  had  no  prizes  at 
Oxford  of  the  highest  class,  unless  honors  in  the 
schools  be  so  called — and  in  this  respect  he 
achieved  a  success  which  falls  to  the  lot  of  but 
few  students.  In  the  year  1831,  when  he  went 
up  for  his  final  examination,  he  completed  his 
academical  education  by  attaining  the  highest 
honors  in  the  university — graduating  double- 
first-class. 

Of  the  city  of  Oxford,  where  Oxford  Uni- 
versity is  situated,  Matthew  Arnold  writes: 
*^  Beautiful  city !  So  venerable,  so  lovely,  so 
unravaged  by  the  fierce  intellectual  life  of  our 
century,  so  serene  I  And  yet,  steeped  in  senti- 
ment as  she  lies,  spreading  her  gardens  to  the 
moonlight,  or  whispering  from  her  towers  the 
last  enchantments  of  the  Middle  Age,  who  will 
deny  that  Oxford,  by  her  ineffable  charm,  keeps 
ever  calling  us  near  to  the  true  goal  of  all  of  us, 


78  William  E.  Gladstone 

to  the  ideal,  to  perfection — to  beauty,  in  a  word, 
whicli  is  only  truth  seen  from  another  side. " 

Describing  Christ  Church  College,  a  writer 
has  said  that  there  is  no  other  College  where  a 
man  has  so  great  a  choice  of  society,  or  a  man 
entire  freedom  in  choosing  it. 

As  to  the  studies  required,  a  greater  stress 
was  laid  upon  a  knowledge  of  the  Bible  and  of 
the  evidences  of  Christianity  than  upon  classical 
literature;  some  proficiency  was  required  also, 
either  in  mathematics  or  the  science  of  reasoning. 
The  system  of  education  accommodated  itself  to 
the  capacity  and  wants  of  the  students,  but  the 
man  of  talent  was  at  no  loss  as  to  a  field  for  his 
exertions,  or  a  reward  for  his  indust^'y.  The 
honors  of  the  ministry  were  all  within  his  reach. 
In  the  cultivation  of  taste  and  general  informa- 
tion Oxford  afforded  every  opportunity,  but  the 
modern  languages  were  not  taught. 

An  interesting  fact  is  related  of  young 
Gladstone  when  he  entered  Oxford,  as  to  his 
studies  at  the  university.  He  wrote  his  father 
that  he  disliked  mathematics,  and  that  he  in- 
tended to  concentrate  his  time  and  attention  upon 
the  classics.  This  was  a  great  blow  to  his  father, 
who  replied  that  he  did  not  think  a  man  was  a 
man  unless  he  knew  mathematics.  The  dutiful 
son  yielded  to  his  father's  wishes,  abandoned  his 
own  plan,  and  applied  himself  with  energy  and 
success  to  the   study  of  mathematics.     But  for 


At  Eton  and  Oxford  79 

this  change  of  study  lie  might  not  have  become 
the  greatest  of  Chancellors  of  the  Exchequer. 

Gladstone's  instructors  at  Oxford  were  men 
of  reputation.  Rev.  Robert  Biscoe,  whose  lec- 
tures on  Aristotle  attracted  some  of  the  best  men 
to  the  university,  was  his  tutor;  he  attended 
the  lectures  of  Dr.  Burton  on  Divinity,  and  of 
Dr.  Pusey  on  Hebrew,  and  read  classics  privately 
with  Bishop  Wordsworth.  He  read  steadily  but 
not  laboriously.  Nothing  was  ever  allowed  to 
interfere  with  his  morning's  work.  He  read  for 
four  hours,  and  then  took  a  walk.  Though  not 
averse  to  company  and  suppers,  yet  he  always 
read  for  two  or  three  hours  before  bedtime. 

Among  the  undergraduates  at  Oxford  then, 
who  became  conspicuous,  were  Henry  Edward 
Manning,  afterwards  Cardinal  Archbishop* 
Archibald. Campbell  Tait,  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury ;  Sidney  Herbert,  Robert  Lowe,  Lord  Sher- 
brooke,  and  Lord  Selborne.  "  The  man  who 
took  me  most,"  says  a  visitor  to  Oxford  in  1829, 
"was  the  youngest  Gladstone  of  Liverpool — I  am 
sure  a  very  superior  person." 

Gladstone's  chosen  friends  were  all  steady 
and  industrious  men,  and  many  of  them  were 
more  distinctively  religious  than  is  generally 
found  in  the  life  of  undergraduates.  And  his 
choice  of  associates  in  this  respect  was  the 
subject  of  criticism  on  the  part  of  a  more  secu- 
larly minded  student  who  wrote,  "  Gladstone  has 


So  William  E.  Gladstone 

mixed  himself  up  with  the  St.  Mary  Hall  and 
Oriel  set,  who  are  really,  for  the  most  part,  only 
fit  to  live  with  maiden  aunts  and  keep  tame 
rabbits."  And  the  question.  Which  was  right- 
Gladstone  or  the  student?  may  be  answered 
by  another,  Which  one  became  Prime  Minister 
of  England  ? 

"  Gladstone's  first  rooms  were  in  the  *  old 
library,'  near  the  hall ;  but  for  the  greater  part 
of  his  time  he  occupied  the  right-hand  rooms  on 
the  first  floor  of  the  first  staircase,  on  the  right 
as  the  visitor  enters  Canterbury  gate.  He  was, 
alike  in  study  and  in  conduct,  a  model  under- 
graduate, and  the  great  influence  of  his  character 
and  talents  was  used  with  manly  resolution 
against  the  riotous  conduct  of  the  ^  Tufts,'  whose 
brutality  caused  the  death  of  one  of  their  number 
in  183 1.  We  read  this  note  in  the  correspond- 
ence of  a  friend :  ^  I  heard  from  Gladstone  yester- 
day; he  says  that  the  number  of  gentlemen 
commoners  has  increased,  is  increasing,  and  ought 
to  be  diminished.'  Every  one  who  has  experi- 
enced the  hubristic  qualities  of  the  Tufted  race, 
and  its  satellites,  will  cordially  sympathize  with 
this  sentiment  of  an  orderly  and  industrious 
undergraduate.  He  was  conspicuously  moderate 
in  the  use  of  wine.  His  good  example  in  this 
respect  affected  not  only  his  contemporaries  but 
also  his  successors  at  the  university ;  men  who 
followed  him  to  Oxford  ten  years  later  found  it 


At  Eton  and  Oxford  Si 

still  operative,  and  declare  tliat  undergraduates 
drank  less  in  tlie  forties,  because  Gladstone  had 
been  courageously  abstemious  in  the  thirties." 

But  there  were  those  who  better  estimated 
Gladstone's  worth  and  looked  approvingly  upon 
his  course,  as  "  the  blameless  schoolboy  became 
the  blameless  undergraduate;  diligent,  sober, 
regular  alike  in  study  and  devotion,  giving  his 
whole  energies  to  the  duties  of  the  place,  and 
quietly  abiding  in  the  religious  faith  in  which  he 
had  been  trained.  Bishop  Charles  Wordsworth 
said  that  no  man  of  his  standing  in  the  university 
habitually  read  his  Bible  more  or  knew  it  better. 
Cardinal  Manning  described  him  walking  in  the 
university  with  his  '  Bible  and  Prayer-book  tucked 
under  his  arm.'  '*"  *  *  He  quitted  Oxford  with 
a  religious  belief  still  untinctured  by  Catholic 
theology.  But  the  great  change  was  not  far 
distant,  and  he  had  already  formed  some  of  the 
friendships  which,  in  their  development  were 
destined  to  effect  so  profoundly  the  course  of  his 
religious  thought." 

In  reference  to  the  religious  and  political 
opinions  and  influences  prevailing  at  Oxford,  it 
may  be  remarked  that  the  atmosphere  of  Oxford 
was  calculated  to  strengthen  Mr.  Gladstone's 
conservative  views,  and  did  have  this  effect,  and 
as  English  statesmen  had  not  then  learned  to  put 
their  trust  in  the  people,  the  cause  of  reform 
found  few  or  no  frieucls  at  the  university,  and  he 


82  William  E.  Gladstone 

was  among  tliose  hostile  to  it,  and  was  known  for 
his  pronounced  Tory  and  High  Church  opinions. 

He  belonged  to  the  famous  debating  society 
known  as  the  Oxford  Union,  was  a  brilliant 
debater,  and  in  183 1  was  its  secretary,  and  later 
its  president.  On  various  occasions  he  carried, 
by  a  majority  of  one  only,  a  motion  that  the 
Wellington  Administration  was  undeserving  of 
the  confidence  of  the  country ;  he  defended  the 
results  of  the  Catholic  Emancipation  ;  he  opposed 
a  motion  for  the  removal  of  Jewish  disabilities, 
and  he  persuaded  94  students  out  of  1 30  to  con- 
demn Earl  Grey's  Reform  Bill  as  a  measure 
^'  which  threatened  not  only  to  change  the  form  of 
government,  but  ultimately  to  break  up  the  very 
foundation  of  social  order.''  His  last  speech  at 
Oxford  was  in  support  of  his  own  amendment  to 
a  motion  for  the  immediate  emancipation  of  the 
slaves  in  the  West  Indies.  On  a  certain  occasion 
he  entertained  a  party  of  students  from  Cam- 
bridge, consisting  of  Sir  Francis  Doyle,  Monck- 
ton  Milnes,  Sunderland,  and  Arthur  H.  Hallam, 
who  discussed  among  them  the  superiority  of 
Shelley  over  Byron  as  a  poet.  The  motion  was 
opposed  by  one  Oxonion,  the  late  Cardinal 
Planning,  but  Shelley  received  90  votes  to  33  for 
Byron. 

One  who  heard  the  debate  on  the  Reform 
Bill  says  that  "it  converted  Alston,  the  son  of 
the  member  in   Parliament   for   Hertford,   who 


At  Eton  and  Oxford  83 

immediately  on  the  conclusion  of  Gladstone's 
speech  walked  across  from  the  Whig  to  the  Tory 
side  of  the  house,  amidst  loud  acclamations." 
Another  who  was  present  writes,  ^'  Most  of  the 
speakers  rose,  more  or  less,  above  their  usual 
level,  but  when  Mr.  Gladstone  sat  down  we  all 
of  us  felt  that  an  epoch  in  our  lives  had  occurred. 
It  certainly  was  the  finest  speech  of  his  that  I 
ever  heard."  And  Bishop  Charles  Wordsworth 
writes  his  experience  of  Mr.  Gladstone  at  this 
time,  "  made  me  feel  no  less  sure  than  of  my 
own  existence  that  Gladstone,  our  then  Christ- 
Church  undergraduate,  would  one  day  rise  to  be 
Prime  Minister  of  England." 

In  the  spring  of  1832  Mr.  Gladstone  quitted 
Oxford.  In  summing  up  results  it  may  be  said, 
in  the  language  of  Mr.  Russell:  "Among  the 
purely  intellectual  effects  produced  on  Mr.  Glad- 
stone by  the  discipline  of  Oxford,  it  is  obvious  to 
reckon  an  almost  excessive  exactness  in  the 
statement  of  propositions,  a  habit  of  rigorous 
definition,  a  microscopic  care  in  the  choice  of 
words,  and  a  tendency  to  analyze  every  senti- 
ment and  every  phrase,  and  to  distinguish  with 
intense  precaution  between  statements  almost 
exactly  similar.  From  Aristotle  and  Bishop 
Butler  and  Edmund  Burke  he  learned  the  value 
of  authority,  the  sacredness  of  law,  the  danger  of 
laying  rash  and  inconsiderate  hands  upon  the 
ark  of  State.     In   the   political   atmosphere  of 


^4  William  E.  Gladstone 

Oxford  lie  was  taught  to  apply  tHese  principles  to 
the  civil  events  of  his  time,  to  dread  innovation, 
to  respect  existing  institutions,  and  to  regard  the 
Church  and  the  Throne  as  inseparably  associated 
by  Divine  ordinance." 


Gladstone's  London  Home 


CHAPTER  III. 

Early  Parliamentary  Experiences. 

/IT  is  customary  for  the  sons  of  gentlemen 
^^y  who  graduate  at  Cambridge  and  Oxford 
^^  to  spend  some  time  in  travel  on  the  con- 
tinent upon  the  completion  of  their 
university  studies.  The  custom  was 
observed  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  early  days  even 
more  than  at  the  present.  In  accordance  then 
with  the  prevailing  usage  he  went  abroad  after 
graduating  at  Oxford.  In  the  spring  of  1832  he 
started  on  his  travels  and  spent  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  next  six  months  in  Italy,  "  learning  the 
language,  studying  the  art,  and  revelling  in  the 
natural  beauties  of  that  glorious  land.''  In  the 
following  September,  however,  he  was  suddenly 
recalled  to  England  to  enter  upon  his  first 
Parliamentary  campaign. 

At  Oxford  Toryism  prevailed,  and  was  of 
the  old-fashioned  type,  far  removed  from  the 
utilitarian  conservatism  of  the  present  day. 
Charles  I  was  a  saint  and  a  martyr,  the  claims 
of  rank  and  birth  were  admitted  with  a  childlike 

85 


86  William  E.  Gladstone 

simplicity,  the  high  functions  of  government 
were  the  birthright  of  the  few,  and  the  people 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  laws,  except  to  obey 
them.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  a  Tory.  The  political 
•views  he  held  upon  leaving  Oxford  had  much  to 
do  with  his  recall  from  abroad  and  his  running 
for  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Of  these 
opinions  held  by  him  then,  and  afterwards  re- 
pudiated, he,  in  a  speech  delivered  at  the  opening 
of  the  Palmerston  Club,  Oxford,  in  December, 
1878,  says  :  "  I  trace  in  the  education  of  Oxford 
of  my  own  time  one  great  defect.  Perhaps  it  was 
my  own  fault ;  but  I  must  admit  that  I  did  not 
learn,  when  at  Oxford,  that  which  I  have  learned 
since,  viz.,  to  set  a  due  value  on  the  imperishable 
and  inestimable  principles  of  human  liberty. 
The  temper  which,  I  think,  too  much  prevailed  in 
academic  circles,  was  that  liberty  was  regarded 
with  jealousy  and  fear,  which  could  not  be 
wholly  dispensed  with,  but  which  was  continually 
to  be  watched  for  fear  of  excess.  *  *  *  I 
think  that  the  principle  of  the  Conservative 
party  is  jealousy  of  liberty  and  of  the  people, 
only  qualified  by  fear ;  but  I  think  the  policy  of 
the  Liberal  party  is  trust  in  the  people,  only 
qualified  by  prudence.  I  can  only  assure  you, 
gentlemen,  that  now  I  am  in  front  of  extende'^ 
popular  privileges.  I  have  no  fear  of  those 
enlargements  of  the  Constitution  that  seem  to  be 
approaching.     On  the  contrary,  I  hail  them  with 


Early  Parliamentary  Experiences  Zj 

desire.  I  am  not  in  the  least  degree  conscious 
that  I  have  less  reverence  for  antiquity,  for  the 
beautiful,  and  good,  and  glorious  charges  that 
our  ancestors  have  handed  down  to  us  as  a  patri- 
mony to  our  race,  than  I  had  in  other  days  when 
I  held  other  political  opinions.  I  have  learnt  to 
set  the  true  value  upon  human  liberty,  and  in 
whatever  I  have  changed,  there,  and  there  only, 
has  been  the  explanation  of  the  change." 

It  was  Mr.  Gladstone's  Tory  principles  that 
led  to  an  invitation  from  the  Duke  of  Newcastle, 
whose  son,  the  Earl  of  Lincoln,  afterwards  a 
member  of  Lord  Aberdeen's  Cabinet  during  the 
Crimean  War,  had  been  his  schoolmate  at  Eton 
and  Oxford,  and  his  intimate  friend  ;  to  return 
to  England  and  to  contest  the  representation  of 
Newark  in  Parliament.  In  accordance  with  this 
summons  he  hurried  home. 

Let  us  review  the  national  situation.  It 
was  a  time  of  general  alarm  and  uncertainty, 
from  political  unrest,  commercial  stagnation,  and 
devastating  pestilence.  "  The  terrors  of  the  time 
begat  a  hundred  forms  of  strange  fanaticism; 
and  among  men  who  were  not  fanatics  there  was 
a  deep  and  wide  conviction  that  national  judg- 
ments were  overtaking  national  sins,  and  that 
the  only  hope  of  safety  for  England  lay  in  a 
return  to  that  practical  recognition  of  religion  in 
the  political  sphere  at  the  proudest  moments  of 
English  history.      *  The  beginning  and  the  end 


88  William  E.  Gladstone 

of  what  is  tlie  matter  with  us  in  these  days,' 
wrote  Carlyle,  '  is  that  we  have  forgotten  God.'  '^ 

England  was  in  a  condition  of  great  political 
excitement  and  expectancy.  One  of  the  greatest 
battles  in  Parliamentary  history  had  just  been 
fought  and  won  by  the  people.  The  Reform 
Bill,  which  admitted  large  classes,  hitherto  un- 
represented, to  the  right  of  citizenship,  had 
passed,  after  a  long  struggle,  during  which  law 
and  order  were  defied  and  riots  prevailed  in 
various  parts  of  the  kingdom. 

The  King  clearly  perceiving  that  the  wish  of 
the  people  could  no  longer  be  disregarded  with 
safety,  and  heedless  of  the  advice  of  the  aristoc- 
racy, gave  his  assent  to  the  measure.  This  bill, 
which  became  a  law  June  7,  1832,  "  transformed 
the  whole  of  the  Electoral  arrangements  of  the 
United  Kingdom."  It  was  demanded  that  the 
King  be  present  in  the  House  of  Lords  to  witness 
the  ceremony  of  the  subjugation  of  his  crown 
and  peers,  as  it  was  deemed,  but  the  King, 
feeling  he  had  yielded  enough  to  the  popular 
ivill,  refused.  Walpole,  in  his  history,  writes : 
^'  King  and  Queen  sat  sullenly  apart  in  their 
palace.  Peer  and  country  gentleman  moodily 
awaited  the  ruin  of  their  country  and  the 
destruction  of  their  property.  Fanaticism  still 
raved  at  the  wickedness  of  a  people  ;  the  people, 
clamoring  for  work,  still  succumbed  before 
the   mysterious   disease  which   was   continually 


Early  Parliamentary  Experiences  89 

claiming  more  and  more  v^ictims.  But  the  nation 
cared  not  for  the  suUennesss  of  the  Court,  the 
forebodings  of  the  landed  classes,  the  ravings  of 
the  pulpit,  or  even  the  mysterious  operations  of 
a  new  plague.  The  deep  gloom  that  had  over- 
shadowed the  land  had  been  relieved  by  one 
single  ray.  The  victory  had  been  won.  The 
bill  had  become  law." 

The  first  reformed  House  of  Commons,  after 
the  passage  of  the  terrible  Reform  Bill,  met  and 
was  looked  upon  by  some  of  the  friends  of 
Reform  with  fond  hopes  and  expectations,  and 
by  others,  the  Tories,  with  fear  and  apprehension. 
The  poor  looked  upon  the  Reform  Bill  as  a 
measure  for  their  redemption,  and  the  landed 
proprietors  regarded  it  as  the  first  sign  of  de- 
parted national  greatness.  Both  classes  were 
disappointed.  It  neither  revived  business  nor 
despoiled  owners.  The  result  was  a  surprise  to 
politicians  of  both  parties.  The  Reformers  did 
not,  as  was  anticipated,  carry  their  extreme 
measures,  and  the  Tories  did  not  realize  the 
great  losses  they  expected.  While  the  Ministry 
preserved  its  power  and  even  obtained  some 
victories  in  England  and  Scotland,  it  sustained 
serious  defeats  in  Ireland.  In  England  many 
earnest  and  popular  friends  of  Reform  were 
defeated  in  the  election,  and  some  counties,  among 
them  Bristol,  Stamford,  Hertford,  Norwich  and 
Newark,  were  pronounced  against  the  Ministry, 


90  William  E.  Gladstone 

The  Duke  of  Newcastle,  who  was  one  of 
the  chief  potentates  of  the  high  Tory  party,  and 
had  lost  his  control  of  Newark  in  183 1,  by  the 
election  of  a  Radical,  was  determined  to  regain  it. 
He  regarded  it  as  his  right  to  be  represented  in 
the  House  of  Commons,  or  that  Newark  should 
elect  whom  he  nominated.  And  he  had  pro- 
pounded the  memorable  political  maxim,  "  Have 
I  not  a  right  to  do  what  I  like  with  my  own  ?  " 
The  Duke  wanted  a  capable  candidate  to  help 
him  regain  his  ascendency.  His  son.  Lord 
Lincoln,  here  came  to  his  aid.  He  had  heard 
the  remarkable  speech  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, in  the  Oxford  Union,  against  the  Reform 
Bill,  and  had  written  home  regarding  him,  that  ^'  a 
man  had  uprisen  in  Israel."  At  his  suggestion 
the  Duke  invited  the  young  graduate  of  Oxford 
to  run  as  the  Tory  candidate  for  a  seat  in  Parlia- 
ment from  Newark.  The  wisdom  of  this  selec- 
tion for  the  accomplishment  of  the  purpose  in 
view,  was  fully  demonstrated. 

His  personal  appearance  at  this  time  may 
be  thus  described :  He  was  somewhat  robust. 
His  youthful  face  bore  none  of  those  deep  furrows 
which  have  rendered  his  countenance  so  remark- 
able in  maturer  years.  But  there  was  the  same 
broad  intellectual  forehead,  the  massive  nose,  the 
same  anxious  eyes  and  the  earnest  enthusiasm 
of  later  years.  His  look  was  bright  and  thought- 
ful  and   his  bearing  attractive.     He  was  hand- 


\^\  B  R  A  R  ) 

or  THE 

rilVERSn 


Early  Parliamentary  Experiences  93 

some  and  possessed  a  most  intelligent  and 
expressive  countenance.  Says  his  biographer, 
Mr.  Russell :  "  William  Ewart  Gladstone  was 
now  twenty-two  years  old,  with  a  physical  con- 
stitution of  unequalled  vigor,  the  prospect  of 
ample  fortune,  great  and  varied  knowledge,  and 
a  natural  tendency  to  political  theorization,  and 
an  inexhaustible  copiousness  and  readiness  of 
speech.  In  person  he  was  striking  and  attractive, 
with  strongly  marked  features,  a  pale  complexion, 
abundance  of  dark  hair  and  eyes  of  piercing 
lustre.  People  who  judged  only  by  his  external 
aspect  considered  that  he  was  delicate." 

Young  Gladstone  found  two  opponents  con- 
testing with  him  to  represent  Newark  in  Par- 
liament, W.  F.  Handley  and  Sergeant  Wilde, 
afterwards  Lord  Chancellor  Truro.  The  latter 
was  an  advanced  Liberal  and  had  unsuccessfully 
contested  the  borough  in  1829  ^^^  1^3^,  and  had 
in  consideration  of  his  defeat  received  from  his 
sympathetic  friends  a  piece  of  plate  inscribed: 
"  By  his  ardent  friends,  the  Blue  electors  of  the 
borough,  who  by  their  exertions  aud  sufferings 
in  the  cause  of  independence,  largely  conduced 
to  awaken  the  attention  of  the  nation  to  the 
necessity  of  Reform  in  Parliament.  Upon  this 
humble  token  of  respect  (contributed  in  the  huur 
of  defeat)  the  Blue  electors  of  Newark  inscribe 
their  sense  of  the  splendid  ability,  unwearied 
perseverance,  and  disinterested  public  spirit  dis- 


94  William  E.  Gladstone 

played  by  Sergeant  Wilde  in  maintaining  the  two 
contests  of  1829  and  i^30,  in  order  to  emancipate 
the  borongh  from  political  thraldoms,  and  restore 
to  its  inhabitants  the  free  exercise  of  their  long- 
lost  rights."  Bnt  Sergeant  Wilde  was  more 
successful  the  following  year,  1831,  when  the 
"  Reform  fever  "  was  at  its  height,  and  defeatcu 
the  Duke  of  Newcastle's  nominee  and  became 
member  of  the  House  of  Commons  for  the 
borough.  These  facts  made  the  coming  election, 
which  followed  the  passage  of  the  Reform  Bill, 
of  unusual  interest,  to  those  concerned,  and  the 
struggle  would  be  of  a  close  and  determined 
character. 

Mr.  Gladstone  entered  upon  the  contest  with 
his  experienced,  able  and  popular  antagonist,  with 
much  against  him,  for  he  was  young,  unknown 
and  untried ;  but  his  youth  and  personal  appear- 
ance and  manly  bearing  were  in  his  favor, 
and  these,  with  his  eloquence  and  ready  wit, 
gained  for  him  many  friends.  His  speeches 
demonstrated  that  he  lacked  neither  arguments, 
nor  words  wherewith  to  clothe  them.  He  needed, 
however,  to  call  into  requisition  all  his  abilities, 
for  Sergeant  Wilde  was  a  powerful  antagonist, 
and  had  no  thought  of  being  displaced  by  his 
youthful  opponent,  "  a  political  stripling,"  as 
he  called  him,  without  a  desperate  struggle. 
But  Mr.  Gladstone  had  behind  him  the  ducal 
influence  and  the  support  of  the  Red  Club,  so 


Early  Parliamentary  Experiences  95 

he  entered  upon  tHe  contest  with  energy   and 
enthusiasm. 

The  young  Tory's  first  election  address  was 
delivered  upon  this  occasion.  It  was  dated 
October  9th,  1832,  was  all  such  an  address 
should  be,  and  was  addressed,  "To  the  worthy 
and  independent  electors  of  the  borough  df 
Newark."  It  began  by  saying  that  he  was 
bound  in  his  opinions  by  no  man  and  no  party, 
but  that  he  deprecated  the  growing  unreasonable 
and  indiscriminating  desire  for  change  then  so 
common,  but  confessed  that  labor  has  a  right  to 
"  receive  adequate  remuneration."  On  the  ques- 
tion of  human  slavery,  then  greatly  agitated,  he 
remarked,  "  We  are  agreed  that  both  the  physi- 
cal and  the  moral  bondage  of  the  slave  are  to  be 
abolished.  The  question  is  as  to  the  order ^  and 
the  order  only  ;  now  Scripture  attacks  the  moral 
evil  before  the  corporal  one,  the  corporal  one 
'/trough  the  moral  one,  and  I  am  content  with 
the  order  which  Scripture  has  established."  He 
saw  insurmountable  obstacles  against  immedij  te 
emancipation,  one  of  which  was  that  the  negro 
would  exchange  the  evil  now  affecting  him  Ijr 
greater  ones — for  a  relapse  into  deeper  deba&i£- 
raent,  if  not  for  bloodshed  and  internal  war. 
He  therefore  advocated  a  system  of  Christian 
education,  to  make  the  negro  slaves  fit  for 
emancipation  and  to  prepare  them  for  freedottli 
Then,   he   argued,   without  bloodshed  and  tl- ; 


96  William  E.  Gladstone 

violation  of  property  rights,  and  with  unimpaired 
benefit  to  the  negro,  the  desirable  end  might  be 
reached  in  the  utter  extinction  of  slavery. 

Of  this  appropriate  address,  so  important  in 
the  light  of  coming  events,  we  quote  two  para- 
graphs in  full.  In  speaking  of  existing  evils 
and  the  remedies  for  them,  he  observed :  "  For 
the  mitigation  of  these  evils,  we  must,  I  think, 
look  not  only  to  particular  measures,  but  to  the 
restoration  of  sounder  general  principles.  I 
mean  especially  that  principle  on  which  alone 
the  incorporation  of  Religion  with  the  State  in 
our  Constitution  can  be  defended ;  that  the  duties 
of  governors  are  strictly  and  peculiarly  re- 
ligious ;  and  that  legislatures,  like  individuals, 
are  bound  to  carry  throughout  their  acts  the 
spirit  of  the  high  truths  they  have  acknowledged. 
Principles  are  now  arrayed  against  our  institu- 
tions ;  and  not  by  truckling  nor  by  temporizing — 
not  by  oppression  nor  corruption — but  by  prin- 
ciples they  must  be  met. 

"  And  now,  gentlemen,  as  regards  the  en- 
thusiasm with  which  you  have  rallied  round 
your  ancient  flag,  and  welcomed  the  humble 
representative  of  those  principles  whose  emblem 
it  is,  I  trust  that  neither  the  lapse  of  time  nor  the 
seductions  of  prosperity  can  ever  efface  it  from  my 
memory.  To  my  opponents,  my  acknowledg- 
ments are  due  for  the  good  humor  and  kind- 
ness with  which    they   have   received  me ;    and 


Early  Parliamentary  Experiences  97 

while  I  would  thank  my  friends  for  their  jealous 
and  unwearied  exertions  in  my  favor,  I  briefly 
but  emphatically  assure  them,  that  if  promises 
be  an  adequate  foundation  of  confidence,  or  ex- 
perience a  reasonable  ground  of  calculation,  our 
victory  is  sure^ 

The  new  candidate  for  Parliamentary  honors 
was  "  heckled,"  as  it  is  called,  at  the  hustings, 
or  was  interrupted  continually  while  speaking, 
and  questioned  by  his  opponents  as  to  the 
circumstances  of  his  candidature,  his  father's 
connection  with  slavery,  and  his  own  views  of 
capital  punishment.  From  his  first  appearance 
in  Newark,  Mr.  Gladstone  had  been  subjected  to 
these  examinations  and  he  stood  the  ordeal  well 
and  answered  prudently.  An  instance  of  this  is 
given.  A  Radical  elector,  Mr.  Gillson,  asked 
the  young  Tory  candidate  if  he  was  the  Duke 
of  Newcastle's  nominee,  and  was  met  by  Mr. 
Gladstone  demanding  the  questioner's  definition 
of  the  term  "  nominee."  Mr.  Gillson  replied 
that  he  meant  a  person  sent  by  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle  to  be  pushed  down  the  throats  of  the 
voters  whether  they  would  or  not.  But  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  said 
according  to  that  definition  he  was  not  the 
nominee  of  the  Duke,  but  came  to  Newark  by 
the  invitation  of  the  Red  Club,  than  whom  none 
were  more  respectable  and  intelligent. 


98  .    William  E.  Gladstone 

This  same  Red  Club  was  Conservative,  and 
promised  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  the  thorough  Con- 
servative candidate,  650  votes,  the  whole  number 
within  its  ranks.  He  also  received  the  promise 
of  240  votes  of  other  electors.  This  was  known 
before  the  election,  so  that  the  result  was  con- 
fidently predicted.  On  the  nth  of  December, 
1832,  the  "  nomination "  was  held  and  the 
polling  or  election  was  held  on  the  two  following 
days,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  was  chosen  by  a  con- 
siderable majority,  the  votes  being,  Gladstone, 
S82;  Handley,  793 ;  Wilde,  719.  Sergeant  Wilde 
was  defeated. 

During  the  public  discussions  before  the 
election  Mr.  Gladstone  was  placed  at  a  great 
disadvantage.  There  were  three  candidates  to 
be  heard  from  and  his  speech  was  to  be  the  last 
in  order.  Sergeant  Wilde  made  a  very  lengthy 
speech,  which  exhausted  the  patience  of  his 
hearers,  who  had  already  stood  for  nearly  seven 
hours,  and  showed  disinclination  to  listen  to 
another  three  hours*  address,  which,  from  Mr. 
Gladstone's  talents,  they  were  far  from  thinking 
impossible.  The  Sergeant  was  condemned  for 
occupying  the  attention  of  the  electors  for  such 
an  inordinate  length  of  time,  but  this  did  not 
prevent  a  scene  of  outrageous  noise  and  uproar 
when  the  Tory  candidate  rose  to  speak.  The 
important  topic  was  slavery,  but  Mr.  Gladstone 
had  not  proceeded  far  when  the  hooting  and 


Early  Parliamentary  Experiences  99 

hissing  drowned  his  voice  so  that  he  found  it 
impossible  to  proceed.  When  a  show  of  hands 
was  demanded  it  was  declared  in  favor  of  Mr. 
Handley  and  Sergeant  Wilde,  but  when  the 
election  came,  it  was  Mr.  Gladstone  who  tri- 
umphed, as  has  been  seen,  and  who  was  sent  to 
Parliament  as  the  member  from  Newark. 

In  speaking  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
Parliamentary  elections  are  conducted,  an  Eng- 
lish writer  says:  "Since  1832,  few  of  those 
scenes  of  violence,  and  even  of  bloodshed,  which 
formerly  distinguished  Parliamentary  elections 
in  many  English  boroughs,  have  been  witnessed. 
Some  of  these  lawless  outbreaks  were  doubtless 
due  to  the  unpopularity  of  the  candidates  forced 
upon  the  electors  ;  but  even  in  the  largest  towns — 
where  territorial  influence  had  little  sway — riots 
occurred  upon  which  we  look  back  with  doubtful 
amazement.  Men  holding  strong  political  views 
have  ceased  to  enforce  those  views  by  the  aid  of 
brickbats  and  other  dangerous  missiles.  Yet  at 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century  such  argu- 
ments were  very  popular.  And  to  the  violence 
which  prevailed  was  added  the  most  unblushing 
bribery.  Several  boroughs,  long  notorious  for 
extensive  bribery,  have  since  been  disfranchised. 
The  practice,  however,  extended  to  most  towns 
in  the  kingdom,  though  it  was  not  always  carried 
on  in  the  same  open  manner.  By  a  long 
established  custom,  a  voter  at  Hull  received  a 


100  William  E.  Gladstone 

donation  of  two  guineas,  or  four  for  a  plumper. 
In  Liverpool  men  were  openly  paid  for  tlieir 
votes  ;  and  Lord  Cochrane  stated  in  the  House 
of  Commons  that,  after  his  return  for  Honiton, 
he  sent  the  town-crier  round  the  borough  to 
tell  the  voters  to  go  to  the  chief  banker  for 
^lo  los.  each.  The  great  enlargement  of  the 
constituencies,  secured  by  the  Reform  Bill  of 
1832,  did  much  to  put  an  end  to  this  dis- 
graceful condition  of  things ;  but  to  a  wider 
political  enlightenment  also,  some  portion  of  the 
credit  for  such  a  result  must  be  attributed." 

What  the  friends  and  foes  of  the  new  Tory 
member  for  Newark  thought  of  his  successful 
canvass  and  election,  it  is  interesting  to  learn. 
When  Mr.  Gladstone  entered  upon  the  contest 
the  question  was  frequently  put,  "  Who  is  Mr. 
Gladstone  ?  "  And  it  was  answered,  ^'  He  is  the 
son  of  the  friend  of  Mr.  Canning,  the  great 
Liverpool  merchant.  He  is,  we  understand,  not 
more  than  four  or  five  and  twenty,  but  he  has 
won  golden  opinions  from  all  sorts  of  people,  and 
promises  to  be  an  ornament  to  the  House  of 
Commons."  And  a  few  days  aft^r  his  election 
he  addressed  a  meeting  of  the  Constitutional 
Club,  at  Nottingham,  when  a  Conservative 
journal  made  the  first  prophecy  as  to  his  future 
great  political  fame,  saying  :  "  He  will  one  day 
be  classed  amongst  the  most  able  statesmen  in 


Early  Paruamentary  Experiences         ioi 

the  British  Senate."  The  impression  his  suc- 
cessful contest  made  upon  the  late  friends  of  his 
school-days  may  be  learned  from  the  following : 
A  short  time  before  the  election  Arthur  Hallam, 
writing  of  his  friend,  ^'  the  old  W,  E,  6^.,"  says  : 
"  I  shall  be  very  glad  if  he  gets  in.  *  *  *  We 
want  such  a  man  as  that.  In  some  things  he  is 
likely  to  be  obstinate  and  prejudiced  ;  but  he  has 
a  fine  fund  of  high,  chivalrous  Tory  sentiment, 
and  a  tongue,  moreover,  to  let  it  loose  with." 
And  after  the  election  he  exclaims  :  "And  Glad- 
stone has  turned  out  the  Sergeant!  *  *  * 
What  a  triumph  for  him.  He  has  made  his 
reputation  by  it ;  all  that  remains  is  to  keep 
up  to  it." 

That  one  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  Liberal  op- 
ponents was  impressed  by  his  talent  and  char- 
acter is  shown  by  the  following  lines  of  "  descrip- 
tive prophecy,  perhaps  more  remarkable  for  good 
feeling  than  for  good  poetry  : " 

"  Yet  on  one  form,  whose  ear  can  ne'er  refuse 
The  Muses'  tribute,  for  he  lov'd  the  Muse, 
(And  when  the  soul  the  gen'rous  virtues  raise, 
A  friendly  Whig  may  chant  a  Tory's  praise,) 
Full  many  a  fond  expectant  eye  is  bent 
Where  Newark's  towers  are  mirror' d  in  the  Trent. 
Perchance  ere  long  to  shine  in  senates  first, 
If  manhood  echo  what  his  youth  rehears' d, 
Soon  Gladstone's  brows  will  bloom  with  greener  bays 
Than  twine  the  chaplet  of  the  minstrel's  lays  ; 
Nor  heed,  while  poring  o'er  each  graver  line, 
The  far,  faint  music  of  a  flute  like  mine. 
Ui^  was  no  head  contentedly  which  press'd 


102  William  E.  Gladstone 

The  downy  pillow  in  obedient  rest, 

Where  lazy  pilots,  with  their  canvas  furl'd, 

I^et  up  the  Gades  of  their  mental  world  ; 

His  was  no  tongue  which  meanly  stoop 'd  to  wear 

The  guise  of  virtue,  while  his  heart  was  bare ; 

But  all  he  thought  through  ev'ry  action  ran  ; 

God's  noblest  work — I've  known  one  honest  man." 

Mr.  Gladstone  spoke  at  Newark  in  company 
with  his  friend,  the  Earl  of  Lincoln,  shortly  after 
his  election,  when  another  favorable  testimony 
was  given,  and  his  address  spoken  of  as  "a 
manly,  eloquent  speech,  replete  with  sound 
constitutional  sentiments,  high  moral  feeling, 
and  ability  of  the  most  distinguished  order." 

In  commenting  upon  the  result  of  the  elec- 
tion a  representative  of  the  press  of  Newark  wrote : 
"  We  have  been  told  there  was  no  reaction  against 
the  Ministry,  no  reaction  in  favor  of  Conservative 
principles.  The  delusion  has  now  vanished,  and 
made  room  for  sober  reason  and  reflection.  The 
shadow  satisfies  no  longer,  and  the  return  of 
Mr.  Gladstone,  to  the  discomfiture  of  the  learned 
Sergeant  and  his  friends,  has  restored  the  town 
of  Newark  to  the  high  rank  which  it  formerly 
held  in  the  estimation  of  the  friends  of  order  and 
good  government.  We  venture  to  predict  that 
the  losing  candidate  in  this  contest  has  suffered 
so  severely  that  he  will  never  show  his  face  in 
Newark  on  a  similar  occasion." 

But  Mr.  Gladstone  had  made  bitter  political 
enemies  already,  who  were  not  at  all  reconciled 


EARLY  PARLIAMENTARY  EXPERIENCES  103 

to  his  election,  nor  pleased  with  him.  That  they 
were  not  at  all  slow  to  express  unbecomingly 
their  bitterness  against  him,  because  of  their 
unexpected  defeat,  the  following  shows  from  the 
Reflector:  "  Mr.  Gladstone  is  the  son  of  Glad- 
stone  of  Liverpool,  a  person  who  (we  are  speak- 
ing  of  the  father)  had  amassed  a  large  fortune  by 
West  India  dealings.  In  other  words,  a  great 
part  of  his  gold  has  sprung  from  the  blood  of 
black  slaves.  Respecting  the  youth  himself — 
a  person  fresh  from  college,  and  whose  mind  is 
as  much  like  a  sheet  of  white  foolscap  as  possible 
— he  was  utterly  unknown.  He  came  recom- 
mended by  no  claim  in  the  world  except  the  will 
of  the  Duke,  The  Duke  nodded  unto  Newark, 
and  Newark  sent  back  the  man,  or  rather  the 
boy  of  his  choice.  What  I  Is  this  to  be,  now 
that  the  Reform  Bill  has  done  its  work?  Are 
sixteen  hundred  men  still  to  bow  down  to  a 
wooden-headed  lord,  as  the  people  of  Egypt  used 
to  do  to  their  beasts,  to  their  reptiles,  and  their 
ropes  of  onions?  There  must  be  something 
wrong — something  imperfect.  What  is  it?  What 
is  wanting  ?  Why,  the  Ballot !  If  there  be  a  doubt 
of  this  (and  we  believe  there  is  a  doubt  even 
amongst  intelligent  men)  the  tale  of  Newark  must 
set  the  question  at  rest.  Sergeant  Wilde  was  met 
on  his  entry  into  the  town  by  almost  the  whole 
population.  He  was  greeted  everywhere,  cheered 
everywhere.     He  was  received  with  delight  by 


104  William  E.  Gladstone 

his  friends  and  with  good  and  earnest  wishes  for 
his  success  by  his  nominal  foes.  The  voters  for 
Gladstone  went  up  to  that  candidate's  booth  (the 
slave-driver,  as  they  called  him)  with  Wilde's 
colors.  People  who  had  before  voted  for  Wilde, 
on  being  asked  to  give  their  suffrage  said,  ^  We 
cannot,  we  dare  not.  We  have  lost  half  our 
business,  and  shall  lose  the  rest  if  we  go  against 
the  Duke.  We  would  do  anything  in  our  power 
for  Sergeant  Wilde  and  for  the  cause,  but  we 
cannot  starve ! '  Now  what  say  ye,  our  merry 
men,  touching  the  Ballot  ?  " 

However  Mr,  Gladstone  had  won  as  we  have 
seen  the  golden  opinions  of  many,  and  the 
dreams  of  his  more  youthful  days  were  realized 
when  he  was  sent  to  represent  the  people  in  the 
House  of  Commons. 

On  the  29th  of  January,  1833,  the  first 
Reformed  Parliament  met,  and  William  E.  Glad- 
stone, as  the  member  from  Newark,  took  his  seat 
for  the  first  time  in  "an  assembly  which  he  was 
destined  to  adorn,  delight  and  astonish  for  more 
than  half  a  century,  and  over  which  for  a  great 
portion  of  that  period,  he  was  to  wield  an  un- 
equalled and  a  paramount  authority.''  There 
were  more  than  three  hundred  new  members 
in  the  House  of  Commons.  Lord  Althorp  led 
the  Whigs,  who  were  largely  in  the  majority 
and  the  Tories  constituted  a  compact  minority 
under  the  skillful  leadership  of  Sir  Robert  Peel, 


Early  Parliamentary  Experiences         105 

while  the  Irish  members  who  were  hostile  to  the 
ministry  followed  O'Connell.  On  the  5th  of 
February  the  king  attended  and  delivered  the 
speech  from  the  throne  in  person.  This  Par- 
liamentary session  was  destined  to  become  one  of 
the  most  memorable  in  history  for  the  importance 
of  the  subjects  discussed  and  disposed  of,  among 
them  the  social  condition  of  Ireland,  the  position 
of  the  Irish  church,  the  discontent  and  misery  of 
the  poor  in  England,  and  slavery  in  the  British 
colonies ;  and  for  the  fact  that  it  was  the  first 
Parliament  in  which  William  E.  Gladstone  sat 
and  took  part. 

There  was  no  reference  made  to  the  subject 
of  slavery  in  the  speech  from  the  throne,  but  the 
ministry  resolved  to  consider  it.  Mr.  Stanley, 
the  Colonial  Secretary,  afterwards  fourteenth 
Earl  of  Derby  and  Prime  Minister,  brought  forth, 
May  14th,  1833,  a  series  of  resolutions  in  favor 
of  the  extinction  of  slavery  in  the  British  colonies. 
*^  All  children  of  slaves,  born  after  the  passage 
of  the  Act,  and  all  children  of  six  years  old  and 
under,  were  declared  free.  But  the  rest  of  the 
slaves  were  to  serve  a  sort  of  apprenticeship — 
three-fourths  of  their  time  was  for  a  certain 
number  of  years  to  remain  at  the  disposal  of  the 
masters  ;  the  other  fourth  was  their  own,  to  be 
paid  for  at  a  fixed  rate  of  wages."  The  planters 
were  to  be  duly  compensated  out  of  the  national 
treasury. 


io6  William  E.  Gladstone 

It  was  during  the  discussion  of  these  reso- 
lutions that  Mr.  Gladstone  made  his  maiden 
speech  in  Pariiament.  It  was  made  in  answer 
to  what  seemed  a  personal  challenge  by  Lord 
Howick,  Ex-Under  Secretary  for  the  colonies, 
who,  opposing  gradual  emancipation,  referred  to 
an  estate  in  Demerara,  owned  by  Mr.  Gladstone's 
father,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  great 
destruction  of  life  had  taken  place  in  the  West 
Indies,  owing  to  the  manner  in  which  the  slaves 
were  worked.  In  reply  to  this  Mr.  Gladstone 
said  that  he  would  meet  some  of  Lord  Howick's 
statements  with  denials  and  others  with  ex- 
planations. He  admitted  that  he  had  a  pecu- 
niary interest  in  the  question,  but  a  still  deeper 
interest  in  it  as  a  question  of  justice,  of  humanity, 
and  of  religion.  The  real  cause  of  the  decrease, 
he  said,  was  owing,  not  to  the  increased  cultiva- 
tion of  sugar,  but  to  the  very  large  proportion  of 
Africans  upon  the  estate.  When  it  came  into 
his  father's  possession  it  was  so  weak,  owing  to 
the  large  number  of  negroes  upon  it,  that  he  was 
obliged  to  add  two  hundred  more  people  to  the 
gang.  It  was  well  known  that  negroes  were 
imported  into  Demarara  and  Trinidad  up  to  a 
later  period  than  into  any  of  the  colonies  ;  and 
he  should  at  a  proper  time,  be  able  to  prove  that 
the  decrease  on  his  father's  plantation,  Vreeden 
Hoop,  was  among  the  old  Africans,  and  that 
there  was  an  increase   going  on  in  the  Creole 


Early  Parliamentary  Experiences         107 

population,  whicli  would  be  a  sufficient  answer 
to  the  charges  preferred.  The  quantity  of  sugar 
produced  was  small  compared  to  that  produced 
on  other  estates.  The  cultivation  of  cotton  in 
Demarara  had  been  abandoned,  and  that  of  coflfee 
much  diminished,  and  the  people  engaged  in 
these  sources  of  production  had  been  employed 
in  the  cultivation  of  sugar.  Besides  in  Demarara 
the  labor  of  the  same  number  of  negroes,  dis- 
tributed over  the  year,  would  produce  in  that 
colony  a  certain  quantity  of  sugar  with  less 
injury  to  the  people,  than  negroes  could  produce 
in  other  colonies,  working  only  at  the  stated 
periods  of  crops. 

He  was  ready  to  concede  that  the  cultiva- 
tion was  of  a  more  injurious  character  than 
others ;  and  he  would  ask,  Were  there  not  certain 
employments  in  other  countries  more  destructive 
of  life  than  others  ?  He  would  only  instance 
those  of  painting  and  working  in  lead  mines, 
both  of  which  were  well  known  to  have  that 
tendency.  The  noble  lord  attempted  to  impugn 
the  character  of  the  gentleman  acting  as  manager 
of  his  father's  estates ;  and  in  making  the  selec- 
tion he  had  surely  been  most  unfortunate;  for 
there  was  not  a  person  in  the  colony  more  re- 
markable for  humanity  and  the  kind  treatment 
of  his  slaves  than  Mr.  Maclean.  Mr.  Gladstone, 
in  concluding  this  able  defense  of  his  father,  said, 
that  he  held  in  his  hand  two  letters  from  Mr. 


io8  William  E.  Gladstone 

Maclean,  in  which  he  spoke  in  the  kindest  terms 
of  the  negroes  under  his  charge ;  described  their 
state  of  happiness,  content  and  healthiness — 
their  good  conduct  and  the  infrequency  of 
severe  punishment — and  recommended  certain 
additional  comforts,  which  he  said  the  slaves 
well  deserved. 

On  the  3d  of  June,  on  the  resumption  of  the 
debate  on  the  abolition  of  slavery,  Mr.  Gladstone 
again  addressed  the  House.  He  now  entered 
more  fully  into  the  charges  which  Lord  Howick 
had  brought  against  the  management  of  his 
father's  estates  in  Demarara,  and  showed  their 
groundlessness.  When  he  had  discussed  the 
existing  aspect  of  slavery  in  Trinidad,  Jamaica 
and  other  places,  he  proceeded  to  deal  with  the 
general  qiiestion.  He  confessed  with  shame  and 
pain  that  cases  of  wanton  cruelty  had  occurred 
in  the  colonies,  but  added  that  they  would  always 
exist,  particularly  under  the  system  of  slavery  ; 
and  this  was  unquestionably  a  substantial  reason 
why  the  British  Legislature  and  public  should 
set  themselves  in  good  earnest  to  provide  for  its 
extinction ;  but  he  maintained  that  these  in- 
stances of  cruelty  could  easily  be  explained  by  the 
West  Indians,  who  represented  them  as  rare  and 
isolated  cases,  and  who  maintained  that  the 
ordinary  relation  of  master  and  slave  was  one  of 
kindliness  and  not  of  hostility.  He  deprecated 
cruelty,  and  he  deprecated  slavery,  both  of  which 


Early  Parliamentary  Experiences         109 

were  abliorrent  to  the  nature  of  Englislimen ; 
but,  conceding  these  things,  he  asked,  "  Were 
not  Englishmen  to  retain  a  right  to  their  own 
honestly  and  legally-acquired  property  ?  "  But 
the  cruelty  did  not  exist,  and  he  saw  no  reason 
for  the  attack  which  had  recently  been  made 
upon  the  West  India  interest.  He  hoped  the 
House  would  make  a  point  to  adopt  the  principle 
of  compensation,  and  to  stimulate  the  slave  to 
genuine  and  spontaneous  industry.  If  this  were 
not  done,  and  moral  instruction  were  not  im- 
parted to  the  slaves,  liberty  would  prove  a  curse 
instead  of  a  blessing  to  them.  Touching  upon 
the  property  question,  and  the  proposed  plans 
for  emancipation,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  the 
House  might  consume  its  time  and  exert  its 
wisdom  in  devising  these  plans,  but  without 
the  concurrence  of  the  Colonial  Legislatures 
success  would  be  hopeless.  He  thought  there 
was  excessive  wickedness  in  any  violent  inter- 
ference under  the  present  circumstances.  They 
were  still  in  the  midst  of  unconcluded  in- 
quiries, and  to  pursue  the  measure  then  under 
discussion,  at  that  moment,  was  to  commit  an 
act  of  great  and  unnecessary  hostility  toward 
the  island  of  Jamaica.  "  It  was  the  duty  of 
the  House  to  place  as  broad  a  distinction  as 
possible  between  the  idle  and  the  industrious 
slaves,  and  nothing  could  be  too  strong  to  secure 
the  freedom  of  the  latter ;  but,  with  respect  to  the 


no  William  e.  Gladstone 

idle  slaves,  no  period  of  emancipation  could 
hasten  their  improvement.  If  the  labors  of  the 
House  should  be  conducted  to  a  satisfactory 
issue,  it  would  redound  to  the  honor  of  the 
nation,  and  to  the  reputation  of  his  Majesty's 
Ministers,  whilst  it  would  be  delightful  to  the 
West  India  planters  themselves — for  they  must 
feel  that  to  hold  in  bondage  their  fellow-men 
must  always  involve  the  greatest  responsibility* 
But  let  not  any  man  think  of  carrying  this 
measure  by  force.  England  rested  her  power 
not  upon  physical  force,  but  upon  her  principles, 
her  intellect  and  virtue ;  and  if  this  great 
measure  were  not  placed  on  a  fair  basis,  or  were 
conducted  by  violence,  he  should  lament  it,  as  a 
signal  for  the  ruin  of  the  Colonies  and  the  down- 
fall of  the  Empire."  The  attitude  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, as  borne  out  by  the  tenor  of  his  speech, 
was  not  one  of  hostility  to  emancipation,  though 
he  was  undoubtedly  unfavorable  to  an  immediate 
and  indiscriminate  enfranchisement.  He  de- 
manded, moreover,  that  the  interests  of  the 
planters  should  be  duly  regarded. 

The  result  of  the  consideration  of  these 
resolutions  in  the  House  of  Commons  was 
that  human  slavery  in  the  British  Colonies  was 
abolished,  and  the  sum  of  twenty  million  pounds, 
or  one  hundred  million  dollars  was  voted  to 
compensate  the   slave-owners    for    their  losses. 


Early  Parliamentary  Experiences        hi 

Thus  was  tlie  work  begun  by  Wilberforce  finally 
crowned  with  success. 

It  is  an  interesting  question  bow  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's first  efforts  in  Parliament  were  received. 
Among  bis  friends  bis  speecb  was  anticipated 
witb  lively  interest.  Tbat  morning  be  was  rid- 
ing in  Hyde  Park,  on  bis  gray  Arabian  mare, 
"  bis  bat,  narrow-brimmed,  bigb  up  on  tbe  centre 
of  bis  bead,  sustained  by  a  crop  of  tbick  curly 
bair."  He  was  pointed  out  to  Lord  Cbarles 
Russell  by  a  passer-by  wbo  said,  "  Tbat  is 
Gladstone.  He  is  to  make  bis  maiden  speecb 
to-nigbt.     It  will  be  wortb  bearing." 

From  tbe  first  be  appears  to  bave  favorably 
impressed  tbe  members  of  tbe  House.  Modest  in 
demeanor,  earnest  in  manner,  and  fluent  in 
speecb,  be  at  once  commanded  tbe  respect  and 
attention  of  bis  fellow-members. 

And  bere  is  a  later  testimony  as  to  tbe  early 
impression  made  upon  bis  colleagues  and  con- 
temporaries, wben  be  was  twenty-nine  years  of 
age,  erroneously  stated  as  tbirty-five :  "  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, tbe  member  for  Newark,  is  one  of  tbe  most 
rising  young  men  on  tbe  Tory  side  of  tbe  House. 
His  party  expect  great  tbings  from  bim  ;  and 
certainly,  wben  it  is  remembered  tbat  bis  age  is 
only  tbirty-five,  tbe  success  of  tbe  Parliamentary 
efforts  be  bas  already  made  justifies  tbeir  expec- 
tations. He  is  well  informed  on  most  of  tbe 
subjects  wbicb  usually  occupy  tbe  attention  of 


112  William  E.  Gladstone 

the  Legislature ;  and  he  is  happy  in  turning  his 
information  to  good  account.  He  is  ready  on  all 
occasions,  which  he  deems  fitting  ones,  with  a 
speech  in  favor  of  the  policy  advocated  by  the 
party  with  whom  he  acts.  His  extempore  re- 
sources are  ample.  Few  men  in  the  House  can 
improvise  better.  It  does  not  appear  to  cost  him 
an  effort  to  speak.  *  *  *  He  is  a  man  of 
very  considerable  talent,  but  has  nothing  ap- 
proaching to  genius.  His  abilities  are  much 
more  the  result  of  an  excellent  education  and  of 
mature  study  than  of  any  prodigality  of  nature 
in  the  distribution  of  her  mental  gifts.  /  have 
no  idea  that  he  will  ever  acquire  the  reputation  of 
a  great  statesman.  His  views  are  not  sufficiently 
profoundor  enlarged  for  that ;  his  celebrity  in  the 
House  of  Commons  will  chiefly  depend  on  his 
readiness  and  dexterity  as  a  debater^  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  excellence  of  his  elocution^  and  the 
gracefulness  of  his  manner  when  speaking.  *  *  * 
His  style  is  polished,  but  has  no  appearance  of 
the  effect  of  previous  preparation.  He  displays 
considerable  acuteness  in  replying  to  an  oppo- 
nent ;  he  is  quick  in  his  perception  of  anything 
vulnerable  in  the  speech  to  which  he  replies,  and 
happy  in  laying  the  weak  point  bare  to  the  gaze 
of  the  House.  He  now  and  then  indulges  in 
sarcasm,  which  is,  in  most  cases,  very  felicitous. 
He  is  plausible  even  when  most  in  error.  When 
it  suits  himself  or  his  party  he  can  apply  himself 


Early  Parliamentary  Experiences         113 

with  the  strictest  closeness  to  the  real  point  at 
issue ;  when  to  evade  the  point  is  deemed  most 
politic,  no  man  can  wander  from  it  more  widely." 

How  far  these  estimates  were  true  we  leave 
to  the  reader  to  determine,  after  the  perusal  of 
his  life,  and  in  the  light  of  subsequent  events. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  after  his  maiden  speech,  took 
an  active  part  in  the  business  of  the  House 
during  the  remainder  of  the  session  of  1833. 
He  spoke  upon  the  question  of  bribery  and  cor- 
ruption at  Liverpool,  and  July  8th  made  an 
elaborate  speech  on  the  Irish  Church  Temporali- 
ties Bill.  The  condition  of  Ireland  was  then,  as 
now,  one  of  the  most  urgent  questions  confront- 
ing the  Ministry.  Macaulay  "  solemnly  declared 
that  he  would  rather  live  in  the  midst  of  many 
civil  wars  that  he  had  read  of  than  in  some  parts 
of  Ireland  at  this  moment."  Sydney  Smith 
humorously  described  "those  Irish  Protestants 
whose  shutters  are  bullet-proof;  whose  dinner- 
table  is  regularly  spread  out  with  knife,  fork,  and 
cocked  pistol ;  salt-cellar  and  powder-flask  ;  who 
sleep  in  sheet-iron  nightcaps  ;  who  have  fought  so 
often  and  so  nobly  before  their  scullery- door,  and 
defended  the  parlor  passage  as  bravely  as  Leon- 
idas  defended  the  pass  of  Thermopylae."  Crime 
was  rife  and  to  remedy  the  serious  state  of  affairs 
a  stringent  Coercion  Bill  was  introduced  by  the 
government.  Mr.  Gladstone  voted  silently  for 
the  bill  which  became  a  law. 


114  William  E.  Gladstone 

The  other  bill  introduced  was  that  upon  the 
Irish  Church,  and  proposed  the  reduction  of  the 
number  of  Protestant  Episcopal  Bishops  in  Ire- 
land and  the  curtailment  of  the  income  of  the 
Church.  This  bill  Mr.  Gladstone  opposed  in  a 
speech,  and  he  voted  against  it,  but  it  was  passed. 

It  was  in  the  following  session  that  Mr. 
Hume  introduced  his  ''  ^  Universities  Admission 
Bill,'  designed  to  enable  Nonconformists  of  all 
kinds  to  enter  the  universities,  by  removing 
the  necessity  of  subscribing  to  the  thirty-nine 
articles  at  matriculation."  In  the  debate  that 
followed  Mr.  Gladstone  soon  gave  evidence  that 
he  knew  more  about  the  subject  than  did  the 
author  of  the  bill.  In  speaking  against  the  bill, 
he  said  in  part,  ^'  The  whole  system  of  the 
university  and  of  its  colleges,  both  in  study  and 
in  discipline,  aimed  at  the  formation  of  a  moral 
character,  and  that  aim  could  not  be  attained  if 
every  student  were  at  liberty  to  exclude  himself 
from  the  religious  training  of  the  place."  And 
in  reply  to  a  remark  made  by  Lord  Palmerston 
in  reference  to  the  students  going  "  from  wine  to 
prayers,  and  from  prayers  to  wine,"  Mr.  Glad- 
stone replied,  he  did  not  believe  that  in  their 
most  convivial  moments  they  were  unfit  to  enter 
the  house  of  prayer.     This  bill  was  also  passed. 

It  might  have  been  expected  that  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's active  participation  in  the  debates  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  the  practical  ability  and 


Early  Parliamentary  Experiences         115 

debating  power  he  manifested  would  not  escape 
the  attention  of  the  leaders  of  his  party.  But  the 
recognition  of  his  merit  came  sooner  than  could 
have  been  expected.  It  became  evident,  towards 
the  close  of  1834  that  the  downfall  of  the  Liberal 
Ministry  was  near  at  hand.  Lord  Althorp,  who 
had  kept  the  Liberals  together,  was  transferred 
to  the  House  of  Lords,  and  the  growing  unpopu- 
larity of  the  Whigs  did  the  rest.  The  Ministry 
under  Lord  Melbourne  was  dismissed  by  the 
king,  and  a  new  Cabinet  formed  by  Sir  Robert 
Peel.  The  new  Premier  offered  Mr.  Gladstone 
the  oflBice  of  Junior  Lord  of  the  Treasury,  which 
was  accepted. 

Truly  has  an  eminent  writer  said  :  "  When 
a  Prime  Minister  in  difficulties,  looking  about  for 
men  to  fill  the  minor  offices  of  his  administration, 
sees  among  his  supporters  a  clever  and  comely 
young  man,  eloquent  in  speech,  ready  in  debate, 
with  a  safe  seat,  an  ample  fortune,  a  high  reputa- 
tion at  the  university,  and  a  father  who  wields 
political  influence  in  an  important  constituency, 
he  sees  a  Junior  Lord  of  the  Treasury  made 
ready  to  his  hand. " 

Appealing  to  his  constituents  at  Newark, 
who,  two  years  before,  had  sent  him  to  Parlia- 
ment, he  was  re-elected.  Mr.  Handley  having 
retired,  Sergeant  Wilde  was  elected  with  Mr. 
Gladstone  without  opposition.  Mr.  Gladstone 
was  "  chaired,"  or  drawn  by  horses  through  the 


ii6  William  E.  Gladstone 

town,  seated  on  a  chair,  after  the  election,  and 
then  addressed  the  assembled  people  to  the  num- 
ber of  6,000,  his  speech  being  received  with 
"  deafening  cheers." 

Shortly  after  Parliament  assembled,  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  Under- 
Secretary  for  the  Colonies.  His  official  chief  was 
lyord  Aberdeen,  afterwards  Prime  Minister ;  and 
thus  began  a  relation  which  was  destined  to 
greatly  affisct  the  destinies  of  both  statesmen. 

Mr.  Gladstone  gave  ample  proof  in  his  new 
office  of  his  great  abilities  and  untiring  energies. 

In  March  he  presented  to  the  House  his  first 
bill,  which  was  for  the  better  regulation  of  the 
transportation  of  passengers  in  merchant  vessels 
to  the  continent  and  to  the  Islands  of  North 
America.  This  bill,  which  contained  many 
humane  provisions,  was  very  favorably  received. 
The  new  Parliament,  which  met  February  10, 
1835,  contained  a  considerable  Liberal  majority. 
The  old  House  of  Commons  had  been  destroyed 
by  fire  during  the  recess,  and  the  new  Commons 
reassembled  in  the  chamber  which  had  been  the 
House  of  Lords,  and  for  the  first  time  there  was 
a  gallery  for  reporters  in  the  House. 

"  A  standing  order  still  existed,  which  for- 
bade the  publication  of  the  debates,  but  the 
reporters'  gallery  was  a  formal  and  visible  recog- 
nition of  the  people's  right  to  know  what  their 
representatives     were    doing    in    their    name." 


Early  parliamentary  experiences      117 

However,  the  new  Ministry  was  but  short-lived, 
for  Sir  Robert  Peel  resigned  April  8tli,  and 
Mr.  Gladstone  retired  with  bis  chief. 

Mr.  Gladstone  spent  the  days  of  his  retire- 
ment from  ministerial  office  partly  in  study,  and 
partly  in  recreation.  Being  free  to  follow  th^ 
bent  of  his  own  inclinations,  he  ordered  his  life 
according  to  his  own  ideals.  He  lived  in  cham 
bers  at  the  Albany,  pursued  the  same  steady 
course  of  work,  proper  recreation  and  systematic 
devotion,  which  he  had  marked  out  at  Oxford. 
He  freely  went  into  society,  dined  out  frequently, 
and  took  part  in  musical  parties,  much  to  the 
edification  of  his  friends  who  were  charmed  with 
the  beauty  and  cultivation  of  his  rich  baritone. 
His  friend  Monckton  Milnes  had  established 
himself  in  London  and  collected  around  him  a 
society  of  young  men,  interested  in  politics  and 
religion,  and  whom  he  entertained  Sunday  even- 
ings. But  this  arrangement  "  unfortunately,"  as 
Mr.  Milnes  said,  excluded  from  these  gatherings 
the  more  serious  members,  such  as  Acland  and 
Gladstone.  Mr.  Milnes  expressed  his  opinion  of 
such  self-exclusion  in  these  words:  "I  really 
think  when  people  keep  Friday  as  a  fast,  they 
might  make  a  feast  of  Sunday."  But  Mr. 
Gladstone  evidently  was  not  of  this  opinion,  and 
remained  away  from  these  Lord's  Day  parties. 
However  at  other  times  he  met  his  friends,  and 
received  them  at  his  own  rooms  in  the  Albany, 


ii8  William  E.  Gladstone 

and  on  one  memorable  occasion  entertained 
Wordsworth  at  breakfast  and  a  few  admirers 
of  tbis  distinguished  guest. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  relaxations  were  occasional, 
and  tbe  most  of  bis  time  was  devoted  to  bis 
Parliamentary  duties  and  study.  His  constant 
companions  were  Homer  and  Dante,  and  be  at 
tbis  time,  it  is  recorded,  read  tbe  wbole  of  St. 
Augustine,  in  twenty-two  octavo  volumes.  He 
was  a  constant  attendant  upon  public  worsbip  at 
St.  James',  Piccadilly,  and  Margaret  Cbapel,  and 
a  careful  critic  of  sermons.  At  tbe  same  time 
be  diligently  applied  bimself  to  tbe  work  of  a 
private  member  of  tbe  House  of  Commons,  work- 
ing on  committees  and  taking  constant  part  in 
debate. 

In  1836  tbe  question  of  slavery  again  came 
up  before  Parliament.  Tbis  time  tbe  question 
was  as  to  tbe  working  of  tbe  system  of  negro 
apprenticesbip,  wbicb  bad  taken  tbe  place  of 
slavery.  It  was  asserted  tbat  tbe  system  was 
only  slavery  under  anotber  name.  He  warmly 
and  ably  defended  again  tbe  West  Indian 
planters.  He  pleaded  tbat  many  of  tbe  planters 
were  bumane  men,  and  defended  also  tbe  bonor 
of  bis  relatives  connected  witb  tbe  traffic  so  mucli 
denounced,  wben  it  was  assailed.  He  contended 
tbat  wbile  tbe  evils  of  tbe  system  bad  been 
exaggerated,  all  mention  of  its  advantages  bad 
been  carefully  witbbeld.     Tbe  condition  of  tbe 


Early  Parliamentary  Experiences         119 

negroes  was  improving.  He  deprecated  the 
attempt  made  to  renew  and  perpetuate  the 
system  of  agitation  at  the  expense  of  candor  and 
truth.  He  also  at  this  time  spoke  on  support 
of  authority  and  order  in  the  government  of 
Canada,  and  on  Church  Rates,  dwelling  upon 
the  necessity  of  national  religion  to  the  security 
of  a  state.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  not  only  a  Tory 
but  a  High  Churchman. 

King  William  IV  died  June  20,  1837,  ^^^ 
was  succeeded  by  Queen  Victoria.  A  general 
election  ensued.  The  Parliament,  which  had 
been  prorogued  by  the  young  queen  in  person, 
was  dissolved  on  the  17th  of  July.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, without  his  consent,  was  nominated  to 
represent  Manchester  in  the  House,  but  was 
re-elected  for  Newark  without  opposition.  He 
then  turned  his  steps  towards  Scotland,  "  to  see 
what  grouse  he  could  persuade  into  his  bag." 
The  new  Parliament  met  October  20th,  but  no 
business  of  importance  came  before  it  until  after 
the  Christmas  holidays. 

In  1838  a  bill  was  presented  in  both  Houses 
of  Parliament  for  the  immediate  abolition  of  negro 
apprenticeship.  Many  harrowing  details  of  the 
cruelties  practiced  were  cited.  Mr.  Gladstone 
returned  to  the  championship  of  the  planters 
with  increased  power  and  success.  His  long, 
eloquent  and  powerful  speech  of  March  30th, 
although  on  the  unpopular  side  of  the  question, 


I20  William  E.  Gladstone 

is  regarded  as  having  so  greatly  enhanced  his 
reputation  as  to  bring  him  to  the  front  rank 
among  Parliamentary  debaters.  Having  impas- 
sionately  defended  the  planters  from  the  exag- 
gerated charges  made  against  them,  he  further 
said:  "You  consumed  forty-five  millions  of 
pounds  of  cotton  in  1837  which  proceeded  from 
free  labor;  and,  proceeding  from  slave  labor, 
three  hundred  and  eighteen  millions  of  pounds  ! 
And  this,  while  the  vast  regions  of  India  afford 
the  means  of  obtaining  at  a  cheaper  rate,  and  by 
a  slight  original  outlay,  to  facilitate  transport,  all 
that  you  can  require.  If,  Sir,  the  complaints 
against  the  general  body  of  the  West  Indians 
had  been  substantiated,  I  should  have  deemed  it 
an  unworthy  artifice  to  attempt  diverting  the  atten- 
tion of  the  House  from  the  question  immediately 
at  issue,  by  merely  proving  that  delinquencies 
existed  in  other  quarters ;  but  feeling  as  I  do  that 
those  charges  have  been  overthrown  in  debate,  I 
think  myself  entitled  and  bound  to  show  how 
capricious  are  the  honorable  gentlemen  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  their  sympathies  among  those  differ- 
ent objects  which  call  for  their  application." 

Mr.  Gladstone,  "  having  turned  the  tables 
upon  his  opponents,"  concluded  by  demanding 
justice,  and  the  motion  before  the  House  was 
rejected. 

About  one  month  later  Rev.  Samuel  Wilber- 
force,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Oxford,  and  of  Win- 


Early  Parliamentary  ExPERrENCES         121 

Chester,  wrote  to  Mr.  Gladstone  :  "  It  would  be  an 
affectation  in  you,  whicli  you  are  above,  not  to 
know  that  few  young  men  Have  the  weight  you 
have  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  are  gaining 
rapidly  throughout  the  country.  Now  I  do  not 
wish  to  urge  you  to  consider  this  as  a  talent  for 
the  use  of  which  you  must  render  an  account,  for 
so  I  know  you  do  esteem  it,  but  what  I  want  to 
urge  upon  you  is  that  you  should  calmly  look  far 
before  you;  see  the  degree  of  weight  and  in- 
fluence to  which  you  may  fairly,  if  God  spares 
your  life  and  powers,  look  forward  in  future  years, 
and  thus  act  now  with  a  view  to  then.  There  is 
no  height  to  which  you  may  not  fairly  rise  in 
this  country.  If  it  pleases  God  to  spare  us 
violent  convulsions  and  the  loss  of  our  liberties, 
you  may  at  a  future  day  wield  the  whole  govern- 
ment of  this  land  ;  and  if  this  should  be  so,  of 
what  extreme  moment  will  your  past  steps  then 
be  to  the  real  usefulness  of  your  high  station. 
*  *  *  Almost  all  our  public  men  act  from  the 
merest  expediency.  *  *  *  j  would  have  you 
view  yourself  as  one  who  may  become  the  head 
of  all  the  better  feelings  of  this  country,  the 
maintainer  of  its  Church  and  of  its  liberties,  and 
who  must  now  be  fitting  himself  for  this  high 
vocation.  *  *  *  j  think  my  father's  life  so 
beautifully  shows  that  a  deep  and  increasing 
personal  religion  must  be  the  root  of  that  firm 


123  William  E.  Gladstone 

and  unwearied  consistency  in  rights  which  I  have 
ventured  thus  to  press  upon  you." 

Mr.  Gladstone  began  his  Parliamentary  life 
as  a  Tory.  Later  he  developed  into  a  Liberal,  a 
Radical,  and  yet  there  is  not  one  who  conscien- 
tiously doubts  his  utter  honesty.  His  life  has 
been  that  of  his  century — progressive,  liberalj 
humanitarian  in  its  trend. 


Grattan 


CHAPTER  IV 
BOOK  ON  Church  and  State 

^^  /f  ^E  ^^^^  ^^^  followed  Mr.  Gladstone  in 
fjLr  tis  course  until  well  on  the  way  in 
^j  his  political  career,  and  yet  lie  is  but 
twenty-eight  years  of  age.  His  per- 
sonal appearance  in  the  House  of 
Commons  at  this  early  stage  of  his  Parliamentary 
life  is  thus  described  :  "  Mr.  Gladstone's  appear- 
ance and  manners  are  much  in  his  favor.  He  is 
a  fine  looking  man.  He  is  about  the  usual 
height  and  of  good  figure.  His  countenance  is 
mild  and  pleasant,  and  has  a  highly  intellectual 
expression.  His  eyes  are  clear  and  quick.  His 
eyebrows  are  dark  and  rather  prominent.  There 
is  not  a  dandy  in  the  House  but  envies  what 
Truefit  would  call  his  '  fine  head  of  jet-black  hair.' 
It  is  always  carefully  parted  from  the  crown 
downwards  to  his  brow,  where  it  is  tastefully 
shaded.  His  features  are  small  and  regular, 
and  his  complexion  must  be  a  very  unworthy 
witness  if  he  does  not  possess  an  abundant  stock 
of  health. 

123 


124  William  E.  Gladstone 

"  Mr.  Gladstone's  gesture  is  varied,  but  not 
violent.  When  lie  rises  he  generally  puts  both 
his  hands  behind  his  back,  and  having  there 
suffered  them  to  embrace  each  other  for  a  short 
time,  he  unclasps  them  and  allows  them  to  drop 
on  either  side.  They  are  not  permitted  to  remain 
long  in  that  locality  before  you  see  them  again 
closed  together  and  hanging  down  before  him. 
Their  reunion  is  not  suffered  to  last  for  any 
length  of  time.  Again  a  separation  takes  place, 
and  now  the  right  hand  is  seen  moving  up  and 
down  before  him.  Having  thus  exercised  it  a 
little,  he  thrusts  it  into  the  pocket  of  his  coat, 
and  then  orders  the  left  hand  to  follow  its  ex- 
ample. Having  granted  them  a  momentary 
repose  there,  they  are  again  put  into  gentle 
motion,  -and  in  a  few  seconds  they  are  seen  repos- 
ing vis-a-vis  on  his  breast.  He  moves  his  face 
and  body  from  one  direction  to  another,  not  for- 
getting to  bestow  a  liberal  share  of  his  attention 
on  his  own  party.  He  is  always  listened  to  with 
much  attention  by  the  House,  and  appears  to  be 
highly  respected  by  men  of  all  parties.  He  is  a 
man  of  good  business  habits  ;  of  this  he  furnished 
abundant  proof  when  Under-Secretary  for  the 
Colonies,  during  the  short-lived  administration  of 
Sir  Robert  Peel." 

From  this  pen  picture  and  other  like  notices 
of  Mr.  Gladstone  he  must,  at  that  time,  have  at- 
tained great  distinction  and  attracted  a  good  deal 


Book  on  Church  and  State  125 

of  attention  for  one  so  young,  and  from  that  day 
to  this  lie  has  commanded  the  attention  not  only 
of  the  British  Senate  and  people,  but  of  the  world 
at  large.  And  why  ?  may  we  ask,  unless  be- 
cause of  his  modest  manner  and  distinguished 
services,  his  exalted  ability  and  moral  worth. 

^*  The  House  of  Commons  was  his  ground,'' 
writes  Justin  McCarthy.  '^  There  he  was  always 
seen  to  the  best  advantage.'* 

Nevertheless,  Mr.  Gladstone  wrote  with  the 
same  earnestness  and  ability  with  which  he 
spoke.  It  was  early  in  life  that  he  distinguished 
himself  as  an  author,  as  well  as  an  orator  and 
debater  in  the  House  of  Commons.  And  it  was 
most  natural  for  him  to  write  upon  the  subject  of 
the  Church,  for  not  only  his  education  led  him  to 
the  consideration  of  such  themes,  but  it  was  with- 
in his  sphere  as  an  English  statesman,  for  the 
law  of  the  land  provided  for  the  union  of  the 
Church  and  State.  It  was  in  1838,  when  he  was 
not  thirty  years  of  age,  that  he  wrote  his  first 
book  and  stepped  at  once  to  the  front  rank  as  an 
author.  He  had  ever  been  a  staunch  defender  of 
the  Established  Church  and  his  first  appearance 
in  literature  was  by  a  remarkable  work  in  defense 
of  the  State  Church  entitled,  "  The  State  in  its 
Relations  with  the  Church. "  The  treatise  is  thus 
dedicated  :  "  Inscribed  to  the  University  of  Ox- 
ford, tried  and  not  found  wanting  through  the 
vicissitudes  of  a  thousand  years ;    iu  the  belief 


126  William  E.  Gladstone 

that  slie  IS  providentially  designed  to  be  a  foun- 
tain of  blessings,  spiritual,  social  and  intellectual, 
to  tbis  and  otber  countries,  to  present  and  future 
times ;  and  in  the  bope  tbat  tbe  temper  of  tbese 
pages  may  be  found  not  alien  from  ber  own." 

Tbis  first  published  book  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
was  due  to  tbe  perception  tbat  tbe  status  of  tbe 
Cburcb,  in  its  connection  witb  tbe  secular  power, 
was  about  to  undergo  tbe  severe  assaults  of  tbe 
opponents  of  tbe  Union,  There  was  growing 
opposition  to  the  recognition  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  as  the  Church  of  the  State  and  to  tax- 
ation of  people  of  other  religious  beliefs  for  its 
support ;  and  this  objection  was  to  the  recognition 
and  support  of  any  Church  by  the  State,  What 
is  called  the  "  American  idea" — the  entire  separa- 
tion of  the  Church  and  State — or  as  enunciated 
first  by  Roger  Williams  in  1636,  in  Rhode  Island, 
that  the  magistrate  should  have  authority  in 
civil  affairs  only,  was  becoming  more  and  more 
the  doctrine  of  dissenters.  Preparations  were 
already  being  made  for  attacking  the  national 
establishment  of  religion,  and  with  all  the  fervor 
springing  from  conviction  and  a  deep-seated 
enthusiasm,  he  came  forward  to  take  part  in  tbe 
controversy  on  Church  and  State,  and  as  a  de- 
fender of  the  Established  or  Episcopal  Church  of 
Eia^land. 

Some  of  the  positions  assumed  in  this  work 
have  since  been  renounced  as  untenable,  but  its 


Book  on  Church  and  State  127: 

ability  as  a  whole,  its  breadth  and  its  learning 
could  not  be  denied.  It  then  created  a  great 
sensation,  and  has  since  been  widely  discussed. 
After  an  examination  and  a  defense  of  the  theory 
of  the  connection  between  Church  and  State,  Mr. 
Gladstone  thus  summarizes  his  principal  reasons 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  Church  establishment : 

"  Because  the  Government  stands  with  us  in 
a  paternal  relation  to  the  people,  and  is  bound  in 
all  things  not  merely  to  consider  their  existing 
tastes,  but  the  capabilities  and  ways  of  their  im- 
provement ;  because  it  has  both  an  intrinsic  com- 
petency and  external  means  to  amend  and  assist 
their  choice ;  because  to  be  in  accordance  with 
God^s  mind  and  will,  it  must  have  a  religion,  and 
because  to  be  in  accordance  with  its  conscience, 
that  religion  must  be  the  truth,  as  held  by  it 
under  the  most  solemn  and  accumulated  respon- 
sibilities ;  because  this  is  the  only  sanctifying 
and  preserving  principle  of  society,  as  well  as  to 
the  individual,  that  particular  benefit,  without 
which  all  others  are  worse  than  valueless ;  we 
must,  therefore,  disregard  the  din  of  political  con- 
tention and  the  pressure  of  novelty  and  moment- 
ary motives,  and  in  behalf  of  our  regard  to  man, 
as  well  as  of  our  allegiance  to  God,  maintain 
among  ourselves,  where  happily  it  still  exists, 
the  union  between  the  Church  and  the  State." 

Dr.  Russell  in  the  following  quotation  not 
only  accounts  for  this  production  from  the  pen  of 


128  William  E.  Gladstone 

Mr.  Gladstone,  but  gives  also  an  outline  of  tlie 
argument : 

"  Naturally  and  profoundly  religious  *  *  * 
Mr.  Gladstone  conceived  that  those  who  professed 
the  warmest  regard  for  the  Church  of  England 
and  posed  as  her  most  strenuous  defenders,  were 
inclined  to  base  their  championship  on  mistaken 
grounds  and  to  direct  their  efforts  towards  even 
mischievous  ends.  To  supply  a  more  reasonable 
basis  for  action  and  to  lead  this  energy  into  more 
profitable  channels  were  the  objects  which  he 
proposed  to  himself  in  his  treatise  of  1838.  The 
distinctive  principle  of  the  book  was  that  the 
State  had  a  conscience.  This  being  admitted, 
the  issue  was  this  :  whether  the  State  in  its  best 
condition,  has  such  a  conscience  as  can  take  cog- 
nizance of  religious  truth  and  error,  and  in  par- 
ticular whether  the  State  of  the  United  Kingdom 
at  that  time  was,  or  was  not,  so  far  in  that  con- 
dition as  to  be  under  an  obligation  to  give  an 
active  and  an  exclusive  support  to  the  established 
religion  of  the  country. 

''  The  work  attempted  to  survey  the  actual 
state  of  the  relations  between  the  State  and  the 
Church  ;  to  show  from  history  the  ground  which 
had  been  defined  for  the  National  Church  at  the 
Reformation ;  and  to  inquire  and  determine 
whether  the  existing  state  of  things  was  worth 
preserving  and  defending  against  encroachment 
from  whatever  quarter.     This  question  it  decided 


Book  on  Church  and  State  129 

empliatically  in  the  affirmative.  Faithful  to 
logic  and  to  its  theory,  the  book  did  not  shrink 
from  applying  them  to  the  external  case  of  the 
Irish  Church.  It  did  not  disguise  the  difficulties 
of  the  case,  for  the  author  was  alive  to  the 
paradox  which  it  involved.  But  the  one  master 
idea  of  the  system,  that  the  State  as  it  then 
stood  was  capable  in  this  age,  as  it  had  been 
in  ages  long  gone  by,  of  assuming  beneficially  a 
responsibility  for  the  inculcation  of  a  particular 
religion,  carried  him  through  all.  His  doctrine 
was  that  the  Church,  as  established  by  law,  was 
to  be  maintained  for  its  truth  ;  that  this  was  the 
only  principle  in  which  it  could  be  properly  and 
permanently  upheld  ;  that  this  principle,  if  good 
in  England,  was  good  also  for  Ireland ;  that 
truth  is  of  all  possessions  the  most  precious  to 
the  soul  of  man  ;  and  that  to  remove  this  price- 
less treasure  from  the  view  and  the  reach  of  the 
Irish  people  would  be  meanly  to  purchase  their 
momentary  favor  at  the  expense  of  their  perma- 
nent interests,  and  would  be  a  high  offense 
against  our  own  sacred  obligations." 

We  quote  also  from  the  opening  chapter  of 
the  second  volume  of  this  work,  which  treats  of 
the  connection  subsisting  between  the  State  of 
the  United  Kingdom  and  the  Church  of  England 
and  Ireland,  and  shows  Mr.  Gladstone's  views  at 
that  period  of  his  life  upon  the  relations  of  the 
Church  as  affecting  Ireland  in  particular.     The 


130  William  E.  Gladstone 

passage  also  indicates  the  changes  that  have 
taken  place  in  his  mind  since  the  time  when  he 
defended  these  principles.  It  also  shows  the 
style  in  which  this  remarkable  book  was  written 
and  enables  ns  to  compare,  not  only  his  opinions 
now  and  then,  but  his  style  in  writing  then  with 
his  style  now. 

"  The  Protestant  legislature  of  the  British 
Empire  maintains  in  the  possession  of  the  Church 
property  of  Ireland  the  ministers  of  a  creed  pro- 
fessed, according  to  the  parliamentary  enumera- 
tion of  1835,  ^y  one-ninth  of  its  population, 
regarded  with  partial  favor  by  scarcely  another 
ninth,  and  disowned  by  the  remaining  seven. 
And  not  only  does  this  anomaly  meet  us  full  in 
view,  but  we  have  also  to  consider  and  digest  the 
fact,  that  the  maintenance  of  this  Church  for 
near  three  centuries  in  Ireland  has  been  contem- 
poraneous with  a  system  of  partial  and  abusive 
government,  varying  in  degree  of  culpability,  but 
rarely,  until  of  later  years,  when  we  have  been 
forced  to  look  at  the  subject  and  to  feel  it,  to  be 
exempted  in  common  fairness  from  the  reproach 
of  gross  inattention  (to  say  the  very  least)  to  the 
interests  of  a  noble  but  neglected  people. 

"  But,  however  formidable  at  first  sight  the 
admissions,  which  I  have  no  desire  to  narrow  or 
to  qualify,  may  appear,  they  in  no  way  shake  the 
foregoing  arguments.  They  do  not  change  the 
nature  of  truth  and  her  capability  and  destiny  to 


Book  on  Church  and  State  i.^i 

benefit  mankind.  They  do  not  relieve  Govern- 
ment of  its  responsibility,  if  tbey  show  that  that 
responsibility  was  once  unfelt  and  unsatisfied. 
They  place  the  legislature  of  the  country  in  the 
condition,  as  it  were,  of  one  called  to  do  penance 
for  past  offences  ;  but  duty  remains  unaltered 
and  imperative,  and  abates  nothing  of  her  de- 
mand on  our  services.  It  is  undoubtedly  com- 
petent, in  a  constitutional  view,  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  this  country  to  continue  the  present 
disposition  of  Church  property  in  Ireland.  It 
appears  not  too  much  to  assume  that  our  imperial 
legislature  has  been  qualified  to  take,  and  has 
taken  in  point  of  fact,  a  sounder  view  of  religious 
truth  than  the  majority  of  the  people  of  Ireland 
in  their  destitute  and  uninstructed  state.  We 
believe,  accordingly,  that  that  which  we  place 
before  them  is,  whether  they  know  it  or  not, 
calculated  to  be  beneficial  to  them  ;  and  that  if 
they  know  it  not  now,  they  will  know  it  when  it 
is  presented  to  them  fairly.  Shall  we,  then,  pur- 
chase their  applause  at  the  expense  of  their  sub- 
stantial, nay,  their  spiritual  interests  ? 

"It  does,  indeed,  so  happen  that  there  are 
powerful  motives  on  the  other  side  concurring 
with  that  which  has  here  been  represented  as 
paramount.  In  the  first  instance  we  are  not 
called  upon  to  establish  a  creed,  but  only  to 
maintain  an  existing  legal  settlement,  when  our 
constitutional  right  is  undoubted.     In  the  second, 


132  William  E.  Gladstone 

political  considerations  tend  strongly  to  recom- 
mend that  maintenance.  A  common  form  of 
faitli  binds  the  Irish  Protestants  to  ourselves, 
while  they,  upon  the  other  hand,  are  fast  linked 
to  Ireland ;  and  thus  they  supply  the  most 
natural  bond  of  connection  between  the  countries. 
But  if  England,  by  overthrowing  their  Church, 
should  weaken  their  moral  position,  they  would 
be  no  longer  able,  perhaps  no  longer  willing, 
to  counteract  the  desires  of  the  majority  tending, 
under  the  direction  of  their  leaders  (however,  by 
a  wise  policy,  revocable  from  that  fatal  course)  to 
what  is  termed  national  independence.  Pride 
and  fear,  on  the  one  hand,  are  therefore  bearing 
up  against  more  immediate  apprehension  and 
difficulty  on  the  other.  And  with  some  men 
these  may  be  the  fundamental  considerations ; 
but  it  may  be  doubted  whether  such  men  will  not 
flinch  in  some  stage  of  the  contest,  should  its 
aspect  at  any  moment  become  unfavorable." 

Of  course  the  opponents  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
views,  as  set  forth  in  his  book,  strongly  combated 
his  theories.  They  replied  that  "  the  taxation  of 
the  State  is  equal  upon  all  persons,  and  has  for 
its  object  their  individual,  social  and  political 
welfare  and  safety  ;  but  that  the  taxation  of  one 
man  for  the  support  of  his  neighbor's  religion 
does  not  come  within  the  limits  of  such  taxation, 
and  is,  in  fact,  unjust  and  inequitable." 


Book  on  Church  and  State  133 

It  was  no  easy  task  for  Mr.  Gladstone,  with 
all  his  parliamentary  duties,  to  aspire  to  author- 
ship, and  carry  his  book  through  the  press.  In 
preparing  for  publication  he  passed  through  all 
the  agonies  of  the  author,  but  was  nobly  helped 
by  his  friend,  James  R.  Hope,  who  afterwards 
became  Mr.  Hope-Scott,  Q.  C,  who  read  and 
criticised  his  manuscript  and  saw  the  sheets 
through  the  press.  Some  of  the  letters  from  the 
young  Defender  of  the  Faith  to  his  friend  con- 
tain much  that  is  worth  preserving.  We  give 
some  extracts. 

He  writes :  "  If  you  let  them  lie  just  as  they 
are,  turning  the  leaves  one  by  one,  I  think  you 
will  not  find  the  manuscript  very  hard  to  make 
out,  though  it  is  strangely  cut  in  pieces  and 
patched. 

"  I  hope  its  general  tendency  will  meet  with 
your  approval ;  but  a  point  about  which  I  am  in 
doubt,  and  to  which  I  request  your  particular 
attention,  is,  whether  the  work  or  some  of  the 
chapters  are  not  so  deficient  in  clearness  and 
arrangement  as  to  require  being  absolutely  re- 
written before  they  can  with  propriety  be  pub- 
lished. *  *  *  Between  my  eyes  and  my 
business  I  fear  it  would  be  hard  for  me  to  re-write, 
but  if  I  could  put  it  into  the  hands  of  any  other 
person  who  could,  and  who  wou!d  extract  from 
my  papers  anything  worth  havir.g,  that  might  do. 


134  William  E.  Gladstone 

"  As  regards  myself,  if  I  go  on  and  publish, 
I  shall  be  quite  prepared  to  find  some  persons 
surprised,  but  this,  if  it  should  prove  so,  cannot 
be  helped.  I  shall  not  knowingly  exaggerate 
anything  ;  and  when  a  man  expects  to  be  washed 
overboard  he  must  tie  himself  with  a  rope  to  the 
mast. 

"  I  shall  trust  to  your  friendship  for  frank- 
ness in  the  discharge  of  your  irksome  task. 
Pray  make  verbal  corrections  without  scruple 
where  they  are  needed.'' 

Again :  "I  thank  you  most  cordially  for 
your  remarks,  and  I  rejoice  to  find  you  act 
so  entirely  in  the  spirit  I  had  anticipated.  I 
trust  you  will  continue  to  speak  with  freedom, 
which  is  the  best  compliment  as  well  as  the  best 
service  you  can  render  me. 

"  I  think  it  very  probable  that  you  may  find 
that  V  and  VI  require  quite  as  rigorous  treat- 
ment as  II,  and  I  am  very  desirous  to  set  both 
my  mind  and  eyes  at  liberty  before  I  go  to  the 
Continent,  which  I  can  now  hardly  expect  to  do 
before  the  first  week  in  September.  This  inter- 
val I  trust  would  su£&ce  unless  you  find  that  the 
other  chapters  stand  in  equal  need. 

"  I  entirely  concur  with  your  view  regarding 
the  necessity  o^  care  and  of  not  grudging  labor 
in  a  matter  so  iLiportant  and  so  responsible  as  an 
endeavor  to  raist  one  of  the  most  momentous 


Book  on  Church  and  State  ijj 

controversies  wliicli  lias  ever  agitated  human 
opinion.'' 

Again:  "Thanks  for  your  letter.  I  have 
been  pretty  hard  at  work,  and  have  done  a  good 
deal,  especially  on  V.  Something  yet  remains. 
I  must  make  inquiry  about  the  law  of  excom- 
munication. *  *  *  I  liave  made  a  very  stupid 
classification,  and  have  now  amended  it ;  instead 
of  faith,  discipline  and  practice,  what  I  meant 
was  the  rule  of  faith,  discipline,  and  the  bearing 
of  particular  doctrines  upon  practice. 

"  I  send  back  also  I  and  II  that  you  may  see 
what  I  have  done." 

The  work  was  successfully  issued  in  the 
autumn  of  1838,  and  passed  rapidly  through 
three  editions.  How  it  was  received  it  would  be 
interesting  to  inquire.  While  his  friends  ap- 
plauded, even  his  opponents  testified  to  the 
ability  it  displayed.  On  the  authority  of  Lord 
Houghton,  it  is  said  that  Sir  Robert  Peel,  the 
young  author's  political  leader,  on  receiving  a 
copy  as  a  gift  from  his  follower,  read  it  with 
scornful  curiosity,  and,  throwing  it  on  the  floor, 
exclaimed  with  truly  ofiicial  horror  :  *^  With  such 
a  career  before  him,  why  should  he  write  books  ? 
That  young  man  will  ruin  his  fine  political 
career  if  he  persists  in  writing  trash  like  this.'' 
However,  others  gave  the  book  a  heartier  recep- 
tion.    Crabb  Robinson  writes  in  his  diary :    "  I 


136  William  E.  Gladstone 

went  to  Wordsworth  this  forenoon.  He  was  ill 
in  bed.     I  read  Gladstone's  book  to  him." 

December  13,  1838,  Baron  Bnnsen  wrote: 
*%ast  night  at  eleven,  when  I  came  from  the 
Duke,  Gladstone's  book  was  lying  on  my  table, 
having  come  out  at  seven  o'clock.  It  is  a  book 
of  the  time,  a  great  event — the  first  book  since 
Burke  that  goes  to  the  bottom  of  the  vital 
question  ;  far  above  his  party  and  his  time.  I 
sat  up  till  after  midnight,  and  this  morning  I 
continued  until  I  had  read  the  whole.  Gladstone 
is  the  first  man  in  England  as  to  intellectual 
power,  and  he  has  heard  higher  tones  than  any 
one  else  in  the  land."  And  again  to  Dr.  Arnold 
he  writes  in  high  praise  of  the  book,  but  lament- 
ing its  author's  entanglement  in  Tractarian 
traditions,  adds :  "  His  genius  will  soon  free 
itself  entirely  and  fly  towards  Heaven  with  its 
own  wings.'* 

Sir  Henry  Taylor  wrote  to  the  Poet  Southey : 
"  I  am  reading  Gladstone's  book,  which  I  shall 
send  you  if  he  has  not.  *  *  *  His  party  be- 
gin to  think  of  him  as  the  man  who  will  one  day 
be  at  their  head  and  at  the  head  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  certainly  no  man  of  his  standing  has 
yet  appeared  who  seems  likely  to  stand  in  his  way. 
Two  wants,  however,  may  lie  across  his  political 
career — want  of  robust  health  and  want  of 
flexibility." 


Book  on  Church  and  State  137 

Cardinal  Newman  wrote :  "  Gladstone's  book, 
as  you  see,  is  making  a  sensation."  And  again : 
"  The  Times  is  again  at  poor  Gladstone.  Really 
I  feel  as  if  I  could  do  anything  for  him.  I 
have  not  read  his  book,  but  its  consequences 
speak  for  it.     Poor  fellow !  it  is  so  noble  a  thing." 

Lord  Macaulay,  in  the  Edinburgh  Review^ 
April,  1839,  i^  -^^^  well-known  searching  criticism, 
while  paying  high  tribute  to  the  author's  talents 
and  character,  said;  "We  believe  that  we  do 
him  no  more  than  justice  when  we  say  that  his 
abilities  and  demeanor  have  obtained  for  him  the 
respect  and  good  will  of  all  parties.  *  *  * 
That  a  young  politician  should,  in  the  intervals 
afforded  by  his  Parliamentary  avocations,  have 
constructed  and  propounded,  with  much  study 
and  mental  toil,  an  original  theory,  on  a  great 
problem  in  politics,  is  a  circumstance  which, 
abstracted  from  all  considerations  of  the  sound- 
ness or  unsoundness  of  his  opinions,  must  be 
considered  as  highly  creditable  to  him.  We 
certainly  cannot  wish  that  Mr.  Gladstone's  doc- 
trine may  become  fashionable  among  public  men. 
But  we  heartily  wish  that  his  laudable  desire  to 
penetrate  beneath  the  surface  of  questions,  and 
to  arrive,  by  long  and  intent  meditation,  at  the 
knowledge  of  great  general  laws,  were  much  mote 
fashionable  than  we  at  all  expect  it  to  become." 

It  was  in  this  article,  by  Lord  Macaulay, 
that  the  ;iqw  fampu?  word^  gccurred  which  the 


138  William  E.  Gladstone 

former  Conservative  friends  of  Mr.  Gladstone 
deligHt  to  recall  in  view  of  his  change  of  political 
opinions :  "  The  writer  of  this  volnme  is  a  young 
man  of  unblemished  character  and  of  distin- 
guished parliamentary  talents  ;  the  rising  hope 
of  those  stern  and  unbending  Tories  who  follow, 
reluctantly  and  cautiously,  a  leader  whose  ex- 
perience and  eloquence  are  indispensable  to  them, 
but  whose  cautious  temper  and  moderate  opinions 
they  abhor.  It  would  not  be  strange  if  Mr. 
Gladstone  were  one  of  the  most  unpopular  men 
in  England." 

Higginson  writes :  "  The  hope  of  the  stern 
and  unbending  Tories  has  for  years  been  the  un- 
questioned leader  of  English  Liberals,  and  though 
he  may  have  been  at  times  as  unpopular  as 
Macaulay  could  have  predicted,  the  hostility  has 
come  mainly  from  the  ranks  of  those  who  were 
thus  early  named  as  his  friends.  But  whatever 
may  have  been  Mr.  Gladstone's  opinions  or 
affiliations,  whoever  may  have  been  his  friends 
or  foes,  the  credit  of  surpassing  ability  has  always 
been  his." 

It  was  remarked  by  Lord  Macaulay  that  the 
entire  theory  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  book  rested  upon 
one  great  fundamental  proposition,  namel}^,  that 
the  propagation  of  religious  truth  is  one  of  the 
chief  ends  of  government  as  government ;  and  he 
proceeded  to  combat  this  doctrine.  He  granted 
that  government   was   designed   to  protect   our 


Book  on  Church  and  State  139 

persons  and  our  property,  but  declined  to  receive 
the  doctrine  of  paternal  government,  until  a 
government  be  sbown  tbat  loved  its  subjects,  as  a 
father  loves  bis  child,  and  was  as  superior  in 
intelligence  to  its  subjects  as  a  father  was  to  his 
children.  Lord  Macaulay  then  demonstrated,  by 
appropriate  illustrations,  the  fallacy  of  the  theory 
that  every  society  of  individuals  with  any  power 
whatever,  is  under  obligation  as  such  society  to 
profess  a  religion  ;  and  that  there  could  be  unity 
of  action  in  large  bodies  without  unity  of  religious 
views.  Persecutions  would  naturally  follow,  or 
be  justifiable  in  an  association  where  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's views  were  paramount.  It  would  be 
impossible  to  conceive  of  the  circumstances  in 
which  it  would  be  right  to  establish  by  law,  as 
the  one  exclusive  religion  of  the  State,  the 
religion  of  the  minority.  The  religious  teaching 
which  the  sovereign  ought  officially  to  counte- 
nance and  maintain  is  that  from  which  he,  in 
his  conscience,  believes  that  the  people  will 
receive  the  most  benefit  with  the  smallest  mix- 
ture of  evil.  It  is  not  necessarily  his  own 
religious  belief  that  he  will  select.  He  may 
prefer  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  England  to 
those  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  but  he  would 
not  force  the  former  upon  the  inhabitants  of 
Scotland.  The  critic  raised  no  objections,  though 
he  goes  on  to  state  the  conditions  under  which 
an  established  Church   might  be  retained  with 


140  William  E.  Gladstone 

advantage.  There  are  many  institutions  whicli, 
being  set  up,  ought  not  to  be  rudely  pulled  down. 
On  the  14th  of  June,  1839,  the  question  of 
National  Education  was  introduced  in  the  House 
of  Commons  by  the  Ministry  of  the  day.  Lord 
Stanley  opposed  the  proposal  of  the  government 
in  a  powerful  speech,  and  offered  an  amendment 
to  this  effect :  "  That  an  address  be  presented  to 
her  Majesty  to  rescind  the  order  in  council  for 
constituting  the  proposed  Board  of  Privy  Council." 
The  position  of  the  government  was  defended  by 
Lord  Morpeth,  who,  while  he  held  his  own  views 
respecting  the  doctrines  of  the  Roman  Catholics 
and  also  respecting  Unitarian  tenets,  he  main- 
tained that  as  long  as  the  State  thought  it  proper 
to  employ  Roman  Catholic  sinews,  and  to  finger 
Unitarian  gold,  it  could  not  refuse  to  extend  to 
those  by  whom  it  so  profited  the  blessings  of 
education.  Speeches  were  also  made  by  Lord 
Ashley,  Mr.  Buller,  Mr.  O'Connell  and  others, 
and  in  the  course  of  debate  reference  was  freely 
made  to  Mr  Gladstone's  book  on  Church  and 
State.  Finally  Mr.  Gladstone  rose  and  remarked, 
that  he  would  not  flinch  from  a  word  he  had 
uttered  or  written  upon  religious  subjects,  and 
claimed  the  right  to  contrast  his  principles,  and 
to  try  results,  in  comparison  with  those  professed 
by  Lord  John  Russell,  and  to  ascertain  the  effects 
of  both  upon  the  institutions  of  the  country,  so 
far  as  they  operated  upon  the  Established  Church 


6ooK  ON  Church  and  State  141 

in  England,  in  Scotland  and  in  Ireland.  It  was 
at  this  time  tHat  a  very  remarkable  scene  was 
witnessed  in  the  House.  Turning  upon  Mr. 
O'Connell,  who  had  expressed  his  great  fondness 
for  statistics,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  the  use  he  had 
made  of  them  reminded  him  of  an  observation  of 
Mr.  Canning's,  "  He  had  a  great  aversion  to  hear 
of  a  fact  in  debate,  but  what  he  most  distrusted 
was  a  figure.''  He  then  proceeded  to  show  the 
inadequacy  of  the  figures  presented  by  Mr. 
O'Connell.  In  reply  to  Lord  Morpeth's  declara- 
tion concerning  the  duty  of  the  State  to  provide 
education  for  Dissenters  so  long  as  it  fingered 
their  gold,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  if  the  State 
was  to  be  regarded  as  having  no  other  functions 
than  that  of  representing  the  mere  will  of  the 
people  as  to  religious  tenets,  he  admitted  the 
truth  of  his  principle,  but  not  that  the  State 
could  have  a  conscience.  It  was  not  his  habit  to 
revile  religion  in  any  form,  but  he  asked  what 
ground  there  was  for  restricting  his  lordship's 
reasoning  to  Christianity.  He  referred  to  the 
position  held  by  the  Jews  upon  this  educational 
question,  and  read  to  the  House  an  extract  from 
a  recent  petition  as  follows  :  "  Your  petitioners 
feel  the  deepest  gratitude  for  the  expression  of 
her  Majesty's  most  gracious  wish  that  the  youth 
of  the  country  should  be  religiously  brought  up, 
and  the  rights  of  conscience  respected,  while  they 
earnestly  hope  that  the  education  of  the  people, 


142  WILLIAM   E.  GLADSTONE 

Jewisli   and    Cliristian,  will  be  sedulously  con- 
nected with  a  due  regard  to  the  Holy  Scriptures.'^ 

Mr.  Gladstone  very  pertinently  asl£ed  how 
the  education  of  the  Jewish  people,  who  con- 
sidered the  New  Testament  an  imposture,  was 
"  to  be  sedulously  connected  with  a  due  regard 
to  the  Holy  Scriptures,"  which  consisted  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  ?  To  oblige  the  Jewish 
children  to  read  the  latter  would  be  directly  con- 
trary to  the  views  of  the  gentlemen  on  the  other 
side  of  the  House.  He  would  have  no  child 
forced  to  do  so,  but  he  protested  against  paying 
money  from  the  treasury  of  the  State  to  men 
whose  business  it  was  to  inculcate  erroneous 
doctrines.  The  debate  was  concluded,  and  the 
government  carried  its  motion  by  a  very  small 
majority.  Two  years  later,  when  the  Jews'  Civil 
Disabilities  Bill  was  before  Parliament,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone again  took  the  unpopular  side  in  the  debate 
and  opposed  the  Bill,  which  was  carried  in  the 
House  of  Commons  but  defeated  in  the  House  of 
Lords. 

Mr.  Gladstone  published,  in  1840,  another 
work,  entitled  "  Church  Principles  Considered  in 
their  Results."  It  was  supplementary  to  his 
former  book  in  defense  of  Church  and  State,  and 
was  written  "  beneath  the  shades  of  Hagley," 
the  house  of  Lord  and  Lady  Lyttelton,  and 
dedicated  "  in  token  of  sincere  affection  "  to  the 
author's  life-long  friend  and  relative.  Lord  Lyttel- 


Book  on  Church  and  State  14s 

ton.  He  dwelt  upon  the  leading  moral  charac- 
teristics of  the  English  Episcopal  Church,  their 
intrinsic  value  and  their  adaptation  to  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  times,  and  defined  these 
characteristics  to  be  the  doctrine  of  the  visibility 
of  the  Church,  the  apostolic  succession  in  the 
ministry,  the  authority  of  the  Church  in  matters 
of  faith  and  the  truths  symbolized  in  the 
sacraments. 

In  one  chapter  he  strongly  attacks  Ration- 
alism as  a  reference  of  the  gospel  to  the  depraved 
standard  of  the  actual  human  natures  and  by  no 
means  to  its  understanding  properly  so  called,  as 
its  measure  and  criterion.  He  says :  "  That 
therefore  to  rely  upon  the  understanding,  mis- 
informed as  it  is  by  depraved  affections,  as  our 
adequate  instructor  in  matters  of  religion,  is  most 
highly  irrational."  Nevertheless,  "  the  under- 
standing has  a  great  function  in  religion  and  is  a 
medium  to  the  affections,  and  may  even  correct 
their  particular  impulses." 

In  reference  to  the  question  of  the  recon- 
version of  England  to  Catholicism,  earnestly 
desired  by  some,  Mr.  Gladstone  forcibly  re- 
marked :  "  England,  which  with  ill  grace  and 
ceaseless  efforts  at  remonstrance,  endured  the 
yoke  when  Rome  was  in  her  zenith,  and  when 
her  powers  were  but  here  and  there  evoked  ;  will 
the  same  England,  afraid  of  the  truth  which  she 
has  vindicated,  or  even  with  the  license  which 


144  William  E.  Gladstonh 

lias  mingled  like  a  weed  witH  its  growtli,  recur  to 
that  system  in  its  decrepitude  which  she  re- 
pudiated in  its  vigor  ? "  If  the  Church  of 
England  ever  lost  her  power,  it  would  never  be 
by  submission  to  Rome,  ^'but  by  that  principle 
of  religious  insubordination  and  self-dependence 
which,  if  it  refuse  her  tempered  rule  and  succeed 
in  its  overthrow,  will  much  more  surely  refuse 
and  much  more  easily  succeed  in  resisting  the 
unequivocally  arbitrary  impositions  of  the  Roman 
scheme."  Here  is  the  key-note  of  many  of  Mr. 
Gladstone's  utterances  in  after  years  against 
the  pretentions  and  aspirations  of  Rome.  The 
defense  of  the  English  Church  and  its  principles 
and  opposition  to  the  Church  of  Rome  have  been 
unchanging  features  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  religious 
course.  But,  in  the  light  of  these  early  utter- 
ances, some  have  criticised  severely  that  legis- 
lative act,  carried  through  by  him  in  later  years, 
by  which  the  Disestablishment  of  the  Irish 
Church  was  effected.  How  could  the  author  of 
''  The  State  in  its  Relations  with  the  Church  '' 
become  the  destroyer  of  the  fabric  of  the  Irish 
Church  ? 

To  meet  these  charges  of  inconsistency  Mr. 
Gladstone  issued,  in  1868,  ^'  A  Chapter  of  Auto- 
biography." The  author's  motives  in  putting 
forth  this  chapter  of  autobiography  were  two — 
first,  there  was  "  the  great  and  glaring  change  " 


Book  on  Church  and  3tat^  143 

in  his  course  of  action  with  respect  to  th**.  Estaa- 
lished  Church  of  Ireland,  which  was  not  due  to 
the  eccentricity  or  perversion  of  an  individual 
niind^  but  to  the  silent  changes  going  on  at  the 
very  basis  of  modern  society.  Secondly,  there 
was  danger  that  a  great  cause  then  in  progress 
might  suffer  in  point  of  credit,  if  not  of  energy 
and  rapidity,  from  the  real  or  supposed  delin- 
quencies of  the  author. 

He  stated  that  "  The  author  had  upheld  the 
doctrine  that  the  Church  was  to  be  maintained 
for  its  truth,  and  that  if  the  principle  was  good 
for  England  it  was  good  for  Ireland  too.  But 
he  denied  that  he  had  ever  propounded  the 
maxim  simpliciter  that  we  were  to  maintain  the 
establishment.  He  admitted  that  his  opinion  of 
the  Church  of  Ireland  was  the  exact  opposite  of 
what  it  had  been  ;  but  if  the  propositions  of  his 
work  were  in  conflict  with  an  assault  upon  the 
existence  of  the  Irish  Establishment,  they  were 
even  more  hostile  to  the  grounds  upon  which  it 
was  now  sought  to  maintain  it.  He  did  not  wish 
to  maintain  the  Church  upon  the  basis  usually 
advanced,  but  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  people 
of  Ireland,  and  if  it  could  not  be  maintained  as 
the  truth  it  could  not  be  maintained  at  all." 

Mr.  Gladstone  contended  that  the  Irish 
Episcopal  Church  had  fallen  out  of  harmony 
with  the  spirit  and  use  of  the  time,  and  must  be 
judged  by  a  practical  rather  than  a  theoretic  test. 


146  William  E.  Gladstone 

In  concluding  tHe  author  puts  antithetically  the 
case  for  and  against  the  maintenance  of  the 
Church  of  Ireland  :  ^'  An  establishment  that  does 
its  work  in  much  and  has  the  hope  and  likelihood 
of  doing  it  in  more ;  that  has  a  broad  and  living 
way  open  to  it  into  the  hearts  of  the  people ;  that 
can  command  the  services  of  the  present  by  the 
recollections  and  traditions  of  the  past ;  able  to 
appeal  to  the  active  zeal  of  the  greater  portion  of 
the  people,  and  to  the  respect  or  scruples  of  living 
work  and  service,  and  whose  adversaries,  if  she 
has  them,  are  in  the  main  content  to  believe 
that  there  will  be  a  future  for  them  and  their 
opinions  ;  such  an  establishment  should  surely  be 
maintained. 

"  But  an  establishment  that  neither  does  nor 
has  her  hope  of  doing  work,  except  for  a  few,  and 
those  few  the  portion  of  the  community  whose 
claims  to  public  aid  is  the  smallest  of  all ;  an 
establishment  severed  from  the  mass  of  the 
people  by  an  impassable  gulf  and  a  wall  of  brass  ; 
an  establishment  whose  good  offices,  could  she 
offer  them,  would  be  intercepted  by  a  long,  un- 
broken chain  of  painful  and  shameful  recol- 
lections ;  an  establishment  leaning  for  support 
upon  the  extraneous  aid  of  a  State,  which  be- 
comes discredited  with  the  people  by  the  very  act 
of  leading  it ;  such  an  establishment  will  do  well 
for  its  own  sake,  and  for  the  sake  of  its  creed,  to 
divest  itself,  as  soon   as  may  be,  of  gauds  and 


Book  on  Church  and  State  147 

trappings,  and  to  commence  a  new  career,  in 
wHicli  renouncing  at  once  the  credit  and  the  dis- 
credit of  the  civil  sanction,  and  shall  seek  its 
strength  from  within  and  put  a  fearless  trust  in 
the  message  that  it  bears." 

Such,  then,  were  the  reasons  that  led  the 
defender  of  the  Irish  Church  to  become  its  as- 
sailant, "  That  a  man  should  change  his  opinions 
is  no  reproach  to  him ;  it  is  only  inferior  minds 
that  are  never  open  to  conviction." 

Mr.  Gladstone  is  a  firm  Anglican,  as  we 
have  seen,  but  the  following  extract  from  his 
address  made  at  the  Liverpool  College,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1872,  gives  a  fine  insight  as  to  the  breadth 
of  his  Christian  sentiments  : 

^'  Not  less  forcibly  than  justly,  you  hear 
much  to  the  effect  that  the  divisions  among 
Christians  render  it  impossible  to  say  what 
Christianity  is,  and  so  destroy  all  certainty  as  to 
the  true  religion.  But  if  the  divisions  among 
Christians  are  remarkable,  not  less  so  is  their 
unity  in  the  greatest  doctrines  that  they  hold. 
Well-nigh  fifteen  hundred  years  have  passed 
away  since  the  great  controversies  concerning  the 
Deity  and  the  person  of  the  Redeemer  were,  after 
a  long  agony,  determined.  As  before  that  time, 
in  a  manner  less  defined  but  adequate  for  their 
day,  so,  even  since  that  time,  amid  all  chance  and 
change,  more — aye,  many  more — than  ninety- 
nine  in  every  hundred  Christians  have,  with  one 


148  William  E.  Gladstone 

voice,  confessed  the  Deity  and  incarnation  of  our 
Lord  as  the  cardinal  and  central  truth  of  our 
religion.  Surely  there  is  some  comfort  here, 
some  sense  of  brotherhood ;  some  glory  due  to 
the  past,  some  hope  for  the  times  that  are  to  come.'' 
Mr.  Gladstone  as  Prime  Minister  of  Eng- 
land, during  his  several  administrations,  has  had 
a  large  Church  patronage  to  dispense,  in  other 
words,  has  been  called  upon,  by  virtue  of  his 
office,  to  fill  many  vacancies  in  the  Established 
Church,  but  it  has  been  truly  testified  that 
"  there  has  probably  never  been  so  laboriously 
conscientious  a  distributor  of  ecclesiastical  crown 
patronage  as  Mr.  Gladstone.  In  his  ecclesiasti- 
cal appointments  he  never  took  politics  into  con- 
sideration. A  conspicuous  instance  of  this  may 
be  mentioned.  When  it  was  rumored  that  he 
intended  to  recommend  Dr.  Benson,  the  present 
Archbishop,  for  the  vacant  See  of  Canterbury,  a 
political  supporter  called  to  remonstrate  with  him. 
Mr.  Gladstone  begged  to  know  the  ground  of  his 
objection.  "  The  Bishop  of  Truro  is  a  strong 
Tory,"  was  the  answer;  "but  that  is  not  all. 
He  has  joined  Mr.  Raikes's  election  committee  at 
Cambridge;  and  it  was  only  last  week  that 
Raikes  made  a  violent  personal  attack  upon 
yourself."  "  Do  you  know,"  replied  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, "  that  you  have  just  supplied  me  with  a 
strong  argument  in  Dr.  Benson's  favor  ?    for,  if 


BOOK  ON  Church  and  State 


■49 


lie   had  been  a  worldly  man   or   self-seeker    lie 
would  not  have  done  anything  so  imprudent." 

Mr.  Gladstone  sympathized  more  or  less 
with  the  Nonconformists  struggling  against  the 
application  of  university  tests  and  other  disabili- 
ties from  which  the  Dissenters  suffered,  but  it 
was  not  until  1876  that  he  really  discovered  the 
true  religious  work  of  the  English  Noncon- 
formists. The  manner  in  which  the  Congrega- 
tionalists,  Baptists,  Quakers  and  others  rallied  to 
the  standard  raised  in  the  cause  of  Bulgarian 
nationality  effected  a  great  change  in  his  attitude 
towards  his  Dissenting  fellow  countrymen.  He 
entertained  many  of  the  representative  Noncon- 
formist ministers  at  breakfast,  and  the  fidelity 
and  devotion  of  Nonconformists  generally  to  the 
Bulgarian  cause  left  on  his  mind  an  impression 
which  has  only  deepened  with  the  lapse  of  time. 
The  extent  to  which  this  influences  him  may  be 
gathered  from  the  reply  which  he  made  to  Dr. 
Dollinger  whilst  that  learned  divine  was  discus- 
sing with  him  the  question  of  Church  and  State. 
Dr.  Dollinger  was  expressing  his  surprise  that 
Mr.  Gladstone  could  possibly  coquette  in  any  way 
with  the  party  that  demanded  the  severance  of 
Church  and  State  in  either  Wales  or  Scotland. 
It  was  to  him  quite  incomprehensible  that  a 
statesman  who  held  so  profoundly  the  idea  of 
the  importance  of  religion  could  make  his  own  a 
cause  whose  avowed  object  wa$  to  cut  asunder 


ISO  William  E.  Gladstone 

the  Churcli  from  the  State.  Mr.  Gladstone 
listened  attentively  to  Dr.  Bollinger's  remarks, 
and  then,  in  an  absent  kind  of  way,  said,  "  Bnt 
yon  forget  how  nobly  the  Nonconformists  sup- 
ported me  at  the  time  of  the  Eastern  Question." 
The  blank  look  of  amazement  on  Dr.  Bollinger's 
face  showed  the  wide  difference  between  the 
standpoint  of  the  politician  and  the  ecclesiastic. 
But  Mr.  Gladstone  knew  upon  whom  to  rely  in 
the  hour  of  need,  when  great  moral  issues  were  at 
stake.  The  Bishops  of  the  House  of  Lords  had 
not  always  done  their  duty.  Lord  Shaftesbury, 
himself  a  very  ardent  Churchman,  wrote,  June  i6, 
1855,  in  reference  to  the  Religious  Worship  Bill : 
"  The  Bishops  have  exhibited  great  ignorance, 
bigotry  and  opposition  to  evangelical  life  and 
action,  and  have  seriously  injured  their  character, 
influence  and  position." 

Mr.  Gladstone  never  displayed  more  marked 
respect  for  the  "  Nonconformist  conscience  "  than 
when,  in  deference  to  their  earnest  appeal,  he 
risked  the  great  split  in  the  Home  Rule  ranks 
that  followed  his  repudiation  of  Mr.  Parnell. 
Mr.  Gladstone  never  hesitated  or  made  the 
slightest  pretense  about  the  matter.  If  the  Non- 
conformists had  been  as  indifferent  as  the 
Churchmen,  his  famous  letter  about  the  Irish 
leadership  would  not  have  been  written.  "  He 
merely  acted,  as  he  himself  stated,  as  the  regis- 
trar of  the  moral  temperature  which  made  Mr. 


Book  on  church  and  State  151 

Parnell  impossible.  He  knew  the  men  who  are 
the  Ironsides  of  his  party  too  well  not  to  under- 
stand that  if  he  had  remained  silent  the  English 
Home  Rulers  would  have  practically  ceased  to 
exist.  He  saw  the  need,  rose  to  the  occasion 
and  cleared  the  obstacle  which  would  otherwise 
have  been  a  fatal  impediment  to  the  success 
of  his  course.  Mr.  Gladstone  is  a  practical 
statesman,  and  with  some  instinct  divined  the 
inevitable." 

Mr.  Gladstone's  religious  belief,  as  well  as 
bis  opinion  of  the  Bible  and  the  plan  of  salvation 
revealed  in  the  Gospel,  are  manifest  as  expressed 
in  the  following  words  from  his  pen : 

"If  asked  what  is  the  remedy  for  the  deeper 
sorrows  of  the  human  heart — what  a  man  should 
chiefly  look  to  in  his  progress  through  life  as  the 
power  that  is  to  sustain  him  under  trials  and 
enable  him  manfully  to  confront  his  afflictions — 
I  must  point  him  to  something  which,  in  a  well- 
known  hymn  is  called  *  the  old,  old  story,'  told  of 
in  an  old,  old  book,  and  taught  with  an  old,  old 
teaching,  which  is  the  greatest  and  best  gift  ever 
given  to  mankind." 

Another  may  read  the  lessons  on  the  Lord's 
day  in  Hawarden  Church  and  write  and  speak  in 
defense  of  the  Established  Church  of  England, 
but  Mr.  Gladstone  did  more — he  put  his  trust 
in  his  Lord  and  Saviour,  and  believed  in  his 
word.     Mr.  Gladstone   was   denominationally   a 


152 


William  E.  Gladstone 


member  of  the  Episcopal  Churcli,  but  religiously 
lie  held  to  views  commonly  Held  by  all  Evangeli- 
cal Christians,  from  which  the  temptations  of 
wealth  at  home,  of  college  and  of  politics  never 
turned  him. 


Kilmainham  Jail,  where  the  Irish  M.  P.'s  were  confined  in  1883 


jii=^^^ 


,^*fc?<^te~-^^i^^ 


CHAPTER  V 

Travels  and  Marriage 

A  y  R.  GLADSTONE  spent  the  winter 
J\lL  ^^  ^^3^-9  i^  Rome.  The  physi- 
^l^\l%^  cians  had  recommended  travel  in 
the  south  of  Europe  for  his  health 
and  particularly  for  his  eyes,  the 
sight  of  which  had  become  impaired  by  hard 
reading  in  the  preparation  of  his  book.  He  had 
given  up  lamps  and  read  entirely  by  candle-light 
with  injurious  results.  He  was  joined  at  Rome 
by  his  friend,  Henry  Manning,  afterwards  Car- 
dinal, and  in  company  they  visited  Monsignor, 
afterwards  Cardinal,  Wiseman,  at  the  English 
College,  on  the  feast  of  St.  Thomas  of  Canter- 
bury. They  attended  solemn  mass  in  honor  of 
that  Saint,  and  the  places  in  the  missal  were 
found  for  them  by  a  young  student  of  the  college, 
named  Grant,  who  afterwards  became  Bishop  of 
Southwark. 

Besides  visiting  Italy  he  explored  Sicily, 
and  kept  a  journal  of  his  tour.  Sicily  is  a 
beautiful  and  fertile  island  in  the  Mediterranean 

^53 


154  William  E.  Gladstone 

Sea,  and  is  the  granary  of  Rome.  His  recorded 
observations  show  the  keenness  of  his  perceptions 
and  the  intensity  with  which  he  enjoyed  the 
beautiful  and  wonderful  in  nature. 

Mount  Etna,  the  greatest  volcano  of  Europe, 
and  which  rises  10,000  feet  above  the  sea,  stirred 
his  soul  greatly,  and  he  made  an  ascent  of  the 
mountain  at  the  beginning  of  the  great  eruption 
of  1838.  Etna  has  many  points  of  interest  for 
all  classes  of  scientific  men,  and  not  least  for  the 
student  of  arboriculture.  It  bears  at  the  height 
of  4000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  a  wonder- 
ful growth — a  very  large  tree — which  is  claimed 
by  some  to  be  the  oldest  tree  in  the  world.  It  is 
a  venerable  chestnut,  and  known  as  ^^  the  father 
of  the  forest."  It  is  certainly  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  as  well  as  celebrated  of  trees.  It 
consists  not  of  one  vast  trunk,  but  of  a  cluster  of 
smaller  decayed  trees  or  portions  of  trees  growing 
in  a  circle,  each  with  a  hollow  trunk  of  great 
antiquity,  covered  with  ferns  or  ivy,  and  stretch- 
ing out  a  few  gnarled  branches  with  scanty 
foliage.  That  it  is  one  tree  seems  to  be  evident 
from  the  growth  of  the- bark  only  on  the  outside. 
It  is  said  that  excavations  about  the  roots  of  the 
tree  showed  these  various  stems  to  be  united  at 
a  very  small  depth  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  It  still  bears  rich  foliage  and  much 
small  fruit,  though  the  heart  of  the  trunk  is 
decayed,  and  a  public  road  leads  through  it  wide 


Marriage  and  Travels.  155 

enough  for  two  coaches  to  drive  abreast.  Trav- 
elers have  differed  in  their  measurements  of  this 
stupendous  growth.  Admiral  Smyth,  who  takes 
the  lowest  estimate,  giving  163  feet,  and  Brydone 
giving,  as  the  highest,  204  feet.  In  the  middle 
of  the  cavity  a  hut  is  built,  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  those  who  collect  and  preserve  the 
chestnuts.  One  of  the  Queens  of  Arragon  is 
reported  to  have  taken  shelter  in  this  tree, 
with  her  mounted  suite  of  one  hundred  persons  ; 
but,  "  we  may,  perhaps,  gather  from  this  that 
mythology  is  not  confined  to  the  lower  latitudes." 
Further  up  the  mountain  is  another  vener- 
able chestnut,  which,  with  more  reason,  probably, 
may  be  described  without  fear  of  contradiction 
as  the  largest  chestnut  tree  in  the  world.  It 
rises  from  one  solid  stem  to  a  remarkable  height 
before  it  branches.  At  an  elevation  of  two  feet 
from  the  earth  its  circumference  was  found  by 
Brydone  to  be  seventy-six  feet.  These  trees  are 
reputed  to  have  flourished  for  much  more  than  a 
thousand  years.  Their  luxuriant  growth  is 
attributed  in  part  to  the  humid  atmosphere  of  the 
Bosco,  elevated  above  the  scorching,  arid  region  of 
the  coast,  and  in  part  to  the  great  richness  of  the 
soil.  The  luxuriance  of  the  vegetation  on  the 
slopes  of  Etna  attracts  the  attention  of  every 
traveler ;  and  Mr.  Gladstone  remarked  upon  this 
point:  '^  It  seems  as  though  the  finest  of  all  soils 
were  produced  from  the  most  agonizing  throes  of 


156  William  E.  Gladstone 

nature,  as  tlie  hardiest  characters  are  often  reared 
amidst  the  severest  circumstances.  The  aspect 
of  this  side  of  Sicily  is  infinitely  more  active  and 
the  country  is  cultivated  as  well  as  most  parts 
of  Italy." 

He  and  his  party  started  on  the  30th  of 
October,  and  found  the  path  nearly  uniform  from 
Catania,  but  the  country  bore  a  volcanic  aspect 
at  every  step.  At  Nicolosi  their  rest  was  dis- 
turbed by  the  distant  booming  of  the  mountain. 
From  this  point  to  the  Bosco  the  scenery  is 
described  as  a  dreary  region,  but  the  tract  of  the 
wood  showed  some  beautiful  places  resembling 
an  English  park,  with  old  oaks  and  abundant 
fern.  "  Here  we  found  flocks  browsing ;  they 
are  much  exposed  to  sheep-stealers,  who  do  not 
touch  travelers,  calculating  with  justice  that  men 
do  not  carry  much  money  to  the  summit  of  Etna." 
The  party  passed  the  Casa  degli  Inglesi,  which 
registered  a  temperature  of  31°,  and  then  contin- 
ued the  ascent  on  foot  for  the  crater.  A  mag- 
nificent view  of  sunrise  was  here  obtained. 

"Just  before  we  reached  the  lip  of  the  crater 
the  guide  exultingly  pointed  out  what  he  declared 
to  be  ordinarily  the  greatest  sight  of  the  mount- 
ain, namely,  the  shadow  of  the  cone  of  Etna, 
drawn  with  the  utmost  delicacy  by  the  newly- 
risen  sun,  but  of  gigantic  extent ;  its  point  at 
this  moment  rested  on  the  mountains  of  Palermo, 
probably  one  hundred  miles  off,  and  the  entire 


Marriage  and  Travels.  157 

figure  was  visible,  tlie  atmosphere  over  tHe 
mountains  having  become  and  continuing  per- 
fectly and  beautifully  transparent,  althougH  in 
the  hundreds  of  valleys  which  were  beneath  us, 
from  the  east  to  the  west  of  Sicily,  and  from  the 
mountains  of  Messina  down  to  Cape  Passaro, 
there  were  still  abundant  vapors  waiting  for  a 
higher  sun  to  disperse  them  ;  but  we  enjoyed  in 
its  perfection  this  view  of  the  earliest  and  finest 
work  of  the  greater  light  of  heaven,  in  the 
passage  of  his  beams  over  this  portion  of  the 
earth's  surface.  During  the  hour  we  spent  on 
the  summit,  the  vision  of  the  shadow  was  speedily 
contracting,  and  taught  us  how  rapid  is  the  real 
rise  of  the  sun  in  the  heavens,  although  its  effect 
is  diminished  to  the  eye  by  a  kind  of  fore- 
shortening." 

The  writer  next  describes  in  vivid  and 
powerful  language  the  scene  presented  to  the 
view  at  the  very  mouth  of  the  crater.  A  large 
space,  one  mile  in  circumference,  which  a  few 
days  before  had  been  one  fathomless  pit,  from 
which  issued  masses  of  smoke,  was  now  abso- 
lutely filled  up  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the  brim 
all  round.  A  great  mass  of  lava,  a  portion  of 
the  contents  of  this  immense  pit,  was  seen  to 
detach  itself  by  degrees  from  one  behind.  "  It 
opened  like  an  orange,  and  we  saw  the  red-hot 
fibres  stretch  in  a  broader  and  still  broader  vein, 
until  the  mass  had  f  v.:id  a  support  on  the  new 


158  William  E.  Gladstone 

ground  it  occupied  in  front ;  as  we  came  back  on 
our  way  down  this  had  grown  black."  A  stick 
put  to  it  took  fire  immediately.  Within  a  few 
yards  of  this  lava  bed  were  found  pieces  of  ice, 
formed  on  the  outside  of  the  stones  by  Frost, 
"  which  here  disputes  every  inch  of  ground  with 
his  fierce  rival  Fire." 

Mr.  Gladstone  and  his  fellow-travelers  were 
the  first  spectators  of  the  great  volcanic  action  of 
this  year.  From  the  highest  peak  attainable  the 
company  gazed  upon  the  splendid  prospect  to  the 
east  spread  out  before  them,  embracing  the 
Messina  Mountains  and  the  fine  kindred  outline 
of  the  Calabrian  coast,  described  by  Virgil  in  the 
third  book  of  the  ^neid.  Mr.  Gladstone 
graphically  describes  the  eruption  which  took 
place  and  of  which  he  was  the  enraptured  witness. 
Lava  masses  of  1 50  to  200  pounds  weight  were 
thrown  to  a  distance  of  probably  a  mile  and  a 
half;  smaller  ones  to  a  distance  even  more 
remote.  The  showers  were  abundant  and  con- 
tinuous, and  the  writer  was  impressed  by  the 
closeness  of  the  descriptions  in  Virgil  with  the 
actual  reality  of  the  eruption  witnessed  by  him- 
self.    On  this  point  he  observes  : 

"  Now  how  faithfully  has  Virgil  {M-  iii,  571, 
et  seq.)  comprised  these  particulars,  doubtless 
without  exaggeration,  in  his  fine  description! 
First,  the  thunder-clap,  or  crack — 

'  Horrificis  juxta  tonat  -^tna  minis.' 


Marriage  and  Travels.  159 

Secondly,  tlie  vibration  of  the  gronnd  to  the 
report — 

'  Kt,  fessum  quoties  mutet  latus,  intremere  omnem 
Murmure  Trinacriam.' 

Thirdly,  the  sheet  of  flame — 

*  Attolitque  globos  flarmmarum,  et  sidera  lambit.' 
Fourthly,  the  smoke — 

'  Bt  coelum  subtexere  fumo.* 
Fifthly,  the  fire  shower — 

*  Scopulos  avulsaque  viscera  mentis 
Krigit  erucatans,  liquefactaque  saxa  sub  auras 
Cum  gemitu  glomerat,  fundoque  exae  tuat  imo.' 

Sixthly  the  column  of  ash — 

*  Atram  prorumpit  ad  aetbera  nubem 
Turbine  fnmantem  piceo  et  candente  faviUa.* 

And  this  is  v^^ithin  the  limits  of  twelve  lines. 
Modern  poetry  has  its  own  merits,  but  the  con- 
veyance of  information  is  not,  generally  speaking, 
one  of  them.  What  would  Virgil  have  thought 
of  authors  publishing  poems  with  explanatory 
notes  (to  illustrate  is  a  different  matter),  as  if 
they  were  so  many  books  of  conundrums? 
Indeed  this  vice  is  of  very  late  years." 

The  entire  description,  of  w^hich  this  is  but 
an  extract,  is  very  effective  and  animated,  and 
gives  with  great  vividness  the  first  impressions 
of  a  mind  susceptible  to  the  grand  and  imposing 
aspects  of  nature. 

"After  Etna,"  says  Mr.  Gladstone  in  his 
diary,  "  the  temples  are  certainly  the  great  charm 
and  attraction  of  Sicily.     I  do  not  know  whether 


i6o  William  E.  Gladstone 

there  is  any  one  among  tHem  whicli,  taken  alone, 
exceeds  in  beauty  that  of  Neptune,  at  Psestum  ; 
but  they  have  the  advantage  of  number  and 
variety,  as  well  as  of  highly  interesting  positions. 
At  Segesta  the  temple  is  enthroned  in  a  perfect 
mountain  solitude,  and  it  is  like  a  beautiful  tomb 
of  its  religion,  so  stately,  so  entire ;  while  around, 
but  for  one  solitary  house  of  the  keeper,  there  is 
nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  to  disturb  the  ap- 
parent reign  of  Silence  and  of  Death.  *  *  * 
The  temples  enshrine  a  most  pure  and  salutary 
principle  of  art,  that  which  connects  grandeur  of 
effect  with  simplicity  of  detail ;  and,  retaining 
their  beauty  and  their  dignity  in  their  decay, 
they  represent  the  great  man  when  fallen,  as 
types  of  that  almost  highest  of  human  qualities — 
silent  yet  not  sullen,  endurance." 

While  sojourning  at  Rome  Mr.  Gladstone 
met  Lord  Macaulay.  Writing  home  from  Rome 
in  the  same  year.  Lord  Macaulay  says :  "  On 
Christmas  Eve  I  found  Gladstone  in  the  throng, 
and  I  accosted  him,  as  we  had  met,  though  we 
had  never  been  introduced  to  each  other.  He 
received  my  advances  with  very  great  empresse- 
ment  indeed,  and  we  had  a  good  deal  of  pleasant 
talk."  And  again  he  writes  :  "I  enjoyed  Italy 
immensely  ;  far  more  than  I  had  expected.  By- 
the-by,  I  met  Gladstone  at  Rome.  We  talked 
and  walked   together  in   St.  Peter's  during  the 


Marriage  and  Travels.  i6i 

best  part  of  an  afternoon.  He  is  botli  a  clever 
and  an  amiable  man." 

Among  tHe  visitors  at  Rome  tlie  winter  that 
Mr.  Gladstone  spent  in  the  eternal  city  were  the 
widow  and  daughters  of  Sir  Stephen  Richard 
Glynne,  of  Hawarden  Castle,  Flintshire,  Wales. 
He  had  already  made  the  acquaintance  of  these 
ladies,  having  been  a  friend  of  Lady  Glynne's 
eldest  son  at  Oxford,  and  having  visited  him  at 
Hawarden  in  1835.  He  was  thrown  much  into 
their  society  while  at  Rome,  and  became  en- 
gaged to  the  elder  of  Lady  Glynne's  daughters, 
Catharine  Glynne.  It  is  strange  to  relate  that 
some  time  before  this  when  Miss  Glynne  met  her 
future  husband  at  a  dinner-party,  an  English 
minister  sitting  next  to  her  had  thus  drawn  her 
attention  to  Mr.  Gladstone  :  "  Mark  that  young 
man ;  he  will  yet  be  Prime  Minister  of  England." 
Miss  Glynne  and  her  sister  were  known  as  "  the 
handsome  Miss  Glynnes." 

William  E.  Gladstone  and  Catharine  Glynne 
were  married  July  25,  1839,  at  Hawarden  Castle. 
At  the  same  time  and  place  Miss  Mary  Glynne 
was  married  to  George  William,  fourth  Lord 
Lyttleton,  with  whom  Mr.  Gladstone  was  on  the 
most  intimate  terms  of  friendship  until  his 
lordship's  untoward  and  lamented  death.  The 
brother  of  these  ladies  was  Sir  Stephen  Glynne, 
the  then   owner  of  Hawarden.     Mrs.  Gladstone 


i62  William  E.  Gladstone 

was  "  in  lier  issue  heir  "  of  Sir  Stephen  Glynne^ 
who  was  ninth  and  last  baronet  of  that  name. 

The  marriage  ceremony  has  been  thus 
described  by  an  eye-witness : 

*^  For  some  time  past  the  little  town  of 
Hawarden  has  been  in  a  state  of  excitement  in 
consequence  of  the  anticipated  nuptials  of  the 
two  sisters  of  Sir  Stephen  Glynne,  Bart.,  M.  P., 
who  have  been  engaged  for  some  time  past  to 
Lord  Lyttelton  and  to  Mr.  W.  Ewart  Gladstone. 
Thursday  last  (July  25th)  was  fixed  upon  for 
the  ceremony  to  take  place  ;  but  in  consequence 
of  the  Chartists  having  attacked  Lord  Lyttelton's 
mansion  in  Worcestershire,  it  was  feared  that  the 
marriage  would  be  delayed.  All  anxieties  on  this 
subject  were  put  an  end  to  by  orders  being 
issued  to  make  ready  for  the  ceremony,  and  the 
Hawarden  folks  lost  no  time  in  making  due 
preparations  accordingly.  The  church  was  ele- 
gantly and  profusely  decorated  with  laurels,  while 
extremely  handsome  garlands,  composed  of  the 
finest  flowers,  were  suspended  from  the  venerable 
roof.  About  half-past  ten  a  simultaneous  rising 
of  the  assembled  multitude  and  the  burst  of 
melody  from  the  organ  announced  that  the  fair 
brides  had  arrived,  and  all  eyes  were  turned 
towards  the  door  to  witness  the  bridal  cortege. 
In  a  few  minutes  more  the  party  arrived  at  the 
communion  table  and  the  imposing  ceremony 
commenced.     At  this  penod  the  coup  d''cezlw2iS 


Gladstone's  Marriage  at  Ha  warden. 


Travels  and  Marriage  163. 

extremely  interesting.  The  bridal  party  exhib- 
ited every  elegance  of  costume ;  while  the  dresses 
of  the  multitude,  lit  up  by  the  rays  of  a  brilliant 
sunlight,  filled  up  the  picture.  The  Rev.  the 
Hon.  G.  Neville  performed  the  ceremony.  At  its 
conclusion  the  brides  visited  the  rectory,  whence 
they  soon  afterwards  set  out — Lord  and  Lady 
Lyttelton  to  their  seat  in  Worcestershire,  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gladstone  on  a  visit  to  Sir  Richard 
Brooke,  Norton  Priory  Mansion,  in  Cheshire. 
The  bridal  party  having  returned  to  the  castle, 
the  good  folks  of  Hawarden  filled  up  the  day  with 
rambling  over  Sir  Stephen  Glynne's  delightful 
park,  to  which  free  access  was  given  to  all 
comers  ;  and  towards  evening  a  dance  on  the 
green  was  got  up.'^ 

It  is  to  be  remarked  that  by  his  marriage 
Mr.  Gladstone  became  allied  with  the  house  of 
Grenville,  a  family  of  statesmen,  which,  directly 
or  in  its  ramifications,  had  already  supplied 
England  with  four  Prime  Ministers.  Baron 
Bunsen,  who  made  his  acquaintance  that  year, 
writes  that  he  "  was  delighted  with  the  man  who 
is  some  day  to  govern  England  if  his  book  is 
not  in  the  way." 

Mrs.  Gladstone  is  widely  and  deservedly 
known  for  her  many  philanthropic  enterprises, 
but  even  better,  perhaps,  has  proved  herself  to  be 
a  noble  and  devoted  wife  and  mother.  She  has 
cheered  by  her  sympathy  her  illustrious  husband 


i64  William  E.  Gladstone 

in  his  defeats  as  well  as  in  his  triumplis,  in  the 
many  great  undertakings  of  his  political  career, 
and  been  to  him  all  the  late  Viscountess  Beacons- 
field  was  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  Parliamentary  rival. 
As  a  mother,  she  nursed  and  reared  all  her 
children,  and  ever  kept  them  in  the  maternal 
eye,  carefully  watching  over  and  tending  them. 
One  of  the  most  interesting  buildings  at  Hawar- 
den  is  Mrs.  Gladstone's  orphanage,  which  stands 
close  to  the  castle.  Here  desolate  orphans  are 
well  cared  for,  and  find,  until  they  are  prepared 
to  enter  on  the  conflict  and  to  encounter  the  cares 
of  life,  a  happy  home. 

Mrs.  Gladstone,  although  in  many  respects 
an  ideal  wife,  was  never  able  to  approach  her 
husband  in  the  methodical  and  business-like 
arrangement  of  her  affairs.  Shortly  after  their 
wedding,  the  story  runs,  Mr.  Gladstone  seriously 
took  in  hand  the  tuition  of  his  handsome  young 
wife  in  book-keeping,  and  Mrs.  Gladstone  applied 
herself  with  diligence  to  the  unwelcome  task. 
Some  time  after  she  came  down  in  triumph  to 
her  husband  to  display  her  domestic  accounts 
and  her  correspondence,  all  docketed  in  a  fashion 
which  she  supposed  would  excite  the  admiration 
of  her  husband.  Mr.  Gladstone  cast  his  eye  over 
the  results  of  his  wife's  labor  and  exclaimed  in 
despair :  "  You  have  done  them  all  wrong,  from 
beginning  to  end ! "  His  wife,  however,  has 
been  so  invaluable  a  helpmeet  in  other  ways  that 


Travels  and  Marriage  165 

it  seems  somewhat  invidious  to  recall  tiiat  little 
incident.  SHe  had  other  work  to  do,  and  she 
wisely  left  the  accounts  to  her  husband  and  his 
private  secretaries. 

The  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gladstone  has 
been  blessed  by  eight  children,  all  of  whom  save 
two  still  survive.  There  were  four  sons,  the 
eldest,  William  Henry,  was  a  member  of  the 
Legislature,  and  the  second,  the  Rev.  Stephen 
Edward  Gladstone,  is  rector  of  Ha  warden.  The 
third  son  is  named  Henry  Neville  and  the  fourth 
Herbert  John  Gladstone.  The  former  is  engaged 
in  commerce  and  the  latter  is  the  popular 
member  for  Leeds.  The  eldest  daughter,  Anne, 
is  married  to  Rev.  E.  C  Wickham,  A.  M  ,  head- 
.  master  of  Wellington  College;  and  the  second, 
Catharine  Jessy  Gladstone,  died  in  1 850 ;  the 
third  daughter,  Mary,  is  married  to  Rev.  W. 
Drew,  and  the  fourth,  Helen  Gladstone,  is  princi- 
pal of  Newnham  College.  As  Sir  John  Glad- 
stone had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  his  son  William 
Ewart  become  a  distinguished  member  of  Parlia- 
ment, so  Mr.  Gladstone  in  his  turn  was  able  to 
witness  his  eldest  son  take  his  seat  in  the 
British  Senate. 

It  was  a  sad  bereavement  when  the  Glad- 
stones were  called  upon  to  part  with  their  little 
daughter,  Catharine  Jessy,  April  9,  1850,  between 
four  and  five  years  old.  Her  illness  was  long 
and  painful,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  bore  his  part  in 


i6.6  William  E.  Gladstone 

the  nursing  and  watching.  He  was  tenderly 
fond  of  his  little  children  and  the  sorrow  had 
therefore  a  peculiar  bitterness.  But  Mr.  Glad- 
stone has  since  had  another  sad  experience  of 
death  entering  the  family  circle.  July  4,  1891, 
the  eldest  son,  William  Henry  Gladstone,  died. 
The  effect  upon  the  aged  father  was  greatly 
feared,  and  the  world  sympathized  with  the  great 
statesman  and  father  in  his  sad  trial,  and  with 
the  afflicted  family.  In  a  letter  dated  July  9, 
the  day  after  the  interment,  Mr.  Gladstone  wrote  : 

"  We,  in  our  affliction  are  deeply  sensible  of 
the  mercies  of  God.  He  gave  us  for  fifty  years  a 
most  precious  son.  He  has  now  only  hidden 
him  for  a  very  brief  space  from  the  sight  of  our 
eyes.  It  seems  a  violent  transition  from  such 
thoughts  to  the  arena  of  political  contention,  but 
the  transition  may  be  softened  by  the  conviction 
we  profoundly  hold  that  we,  in  the  first  and 
greatest  of  our  present  controversies,  work  for 
the  honor,  well-being  and  future  peace  of  our 
opponents  not  less  than  for  our  own." 

When  away  from  the  trammels  of  office,  Mr. 
Gladstone  taught  his  elder  children  Italian.  All 
the  sons  went  to  Eton  and  Oxford,  and  the 
daughters  were  educated  at  home  by  English, 
French  and  German  governesses.  A  close  union 
of  affection  and  sentiment  has  always  been  a 
marked  characteristic  of  this  model  English 
family.     Marriage  and  domestic  cares,  however, 


i68  Travels  and  Marriage 

made  little  dijBference  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  mode 
of  life.  He  was  still  tlie  diligent  student,  the 
constant  debater  and  the  copious  writer  that  ht 
had  been  at  Eton,  at  Oxford  and  in  the  Albany. 
In  the  early  days  of  their  married  life,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Gladstone  lived  in  London  with  Lady 
Glynne,  at  13  Carlton  House  Terrace.  Later 
they  lived  at  6  Carlton  Gardens,  which  was  made 
over  to  them  by  Sir  John  Gladstone ;  then  again 
at  13  Carlton  House  Terrace;  and  when  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  in  office,  at  the  official  residence  of 
the  Prime  Minister,  Downing  Street.  In  1850 
Mr.  Gladstone  succeeded  to  his  patrimony,  and 
in  1856  he  bought  11  Carlton  House  Terrace, 
which  was  his  London  house  for  twenty  years ; 
and  he  subsequently  lived  for  four  years  at  73 
Harley  Street.  During  the  parliamentary  recess 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gladstone  divided  their  time 
between  Fasque,  Sir  John  Gladstone's  seat  in 
Kincardineshire,  and  Hawarden  Castle,  which 
they  shared  with  Mrs.  Gladstone's  brother,  Sir 
Stephen  Glynne,  till  in  his  death  in  1874,  when 
it  passed  into  their  sole  possession.  In  1854 
Mrs.  Gladstone's  brother  added  to  the  castle  a 
new  wing,  which  he  especially  dedicated  to  his 
illustrious  brother-in-law,  and  which  is  fondly 
known  as  "The  Gladstone  Wing."  And  Mr. 
Gladstone,  having  only  one  country  house,  prob- 
ably spent  as  much  time  at  Hawarden  as  any 


Travels  and  Marriage  169 

other    minister    finds    it   possible   to   devote   to 
residence  out  of  London. 

.  Hawarden,  usually  pronounced  Harden,  is 
the  name  of  a  large  market-town,  far  removed 
from  the  centre  and  seat  of  trade  and  empire,  in 
Flintshire,  North  Wales,  six  miles  southwest 
from  the  singular  and  ancient  city  of  Chester,  of 
which  it  may  be  called  a  suburb.  It  is  not 
pretty,  but  a  clean  and  tolerably  well-built  place, 
with  some  good  houses  and  the  usual  character- 
istics of  a  Welsh  village.  The  public  road  from 
Chester  to  Hawarden,  which  passes  by  the  mag- 
nificent seat  of  the  Duke  of  Westminster,  is  not, 
except  for  this,  interesting  to  the  stranger. 
There  is  a  pedestrian  route  along  the  banks  of 
the  river  Dee,  over  the  lower  ferry  and  across  the 
meadows.  But  for  the  most  part  the  way  lies 
along  dreary  wastes,  unadorned  by  any  of  the 
beautiful  landscape  scenery  so  common  in  Wales. 
Broughton  Hall,  its  pleasant  church  and  quiet 
churchyard,  belonging  to  the  Hawarden  estate, 
are  passed  on  the  way.  The  village  lies  at  the 
foot  of  the  Castle,  and  outside  of  the  gates  of 
Hawarden  Park.  The  parish  contains  13,000 
acres,  and  of  these  the  estate  of  Mr.  Gladstone 
consists  of  nearly  7000.  The  road  from  the 
village  for  the  most  part  is  dreary,  but  within  the 
gates  the  park  is  as  beautiful  as  it  is  extensive. 
Richly  wooded,  on  both  sides  of  its  fine  drive  are 
charming  vistas  opening  amongst  the  oaks,  limes 


170 


William  e.  Gladstone 


and  elms.     On  the  height  to  the  left  of  the  drive 
is  the  ancient   Hawarden   Castle,  for  there  are 


The  Park  Gate,  Hawaeden. 
two — the  old  and  the  new — the  latter  being  the 
more  modern  home  of  the  proprietor. 


Travels  and  Marriage  171 

The  ancient  Castle  of  Hawarden,  situated  on 
an  eminence  commanding  an  extensive  prospect, 
is  now  in  ruins.  What,  however,  was  left  of  the 
old  Castle  at  the  beginning  of  the  century  stands 
to-day  a  monument  of  the  massive  work  of  the 
early  masons.  The  remnant,  which  ages  of  time 
and  the  Parliamentary  wars  and  the  strange  zeal 
of  its  first  owner  under  Cromwell  for  its  destruc- 
tion, allowed  to  remain,  is  in  a  marvelous  state 
of  preservation,  and  the  masonry  in  some  places 
fifteen  feet  thick.  There  is  a  grandeur  in  the 
ruin  to  be  enjoyed,  as  well  as  a  scene  of  beauty 
from  its  towers.  The  old  Castle,  like  the  park 
itself,  is  open  to  the  public  without  restriction. 
Only  two  requests  are  made  in  the  interests  of 
good  order.  One  is  that  visitors  entering  the 
park  kindly  keep  to  the  gravel  walks,  while  the 
other  is  that  they  do  not  inscribe  their  names  on 
the  stone-work  of  the  ancient  ruin,  which  request 
has  been  unheeded. 

This  ancient  Castle  was  doubtless  a  strong- 
hold of  the  Saxons  in  very  early  times,  for  it  was 
found  in  the  possession  of  Edwin  of  Mercia  at 
the  Norman  Conquest,  and  was  granted  by 
William  the  Conqueror  to  his  nephew,  Hugh 
Lupus.  In  later  times  Prince  Llewelyn  was 
Lord  of  Hawarden,  of  which  he  was  dispossessed 
by  his  brother,  David.  It  was  only  after  Wales 
was  conquered  that  Hawarden  became  an  English 
stronghold,  held  against  the  Welsh. 


t72 


William  E.  Gladstone 


The  Castle  liad  its  vicissitudes,  both  as  to  its 
condition  and  proprietorship,  for  many  years, 
even  generations.  Somewhere  between  1267 
and  1280  the  Castle  had  been  destroyed  and 
rebuilt.     It  was  rebuilt  in  the  time  of  Edward  I 


Old  Hawaeden  Castle. 


>^^'y 


or  Edward  II,  and  formed  one  link  in  the  chain 
by  which  the  Edwards  held  the  Welsh  to  their 
loyalty.  Its  name  appears  in  the  doomsday- 
book,  where  it  is  spelled  Haordine.  It  was  pre- 
sented by  King  Edward  to  the  House  of  Salis- 


Travels  and  Marriage  173 

bury.  Then  the  Earls  of  Derby  came  into 
possession,  and  they  entertained  within  its  walls 
Henry  VII  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fifteenth 
centnry.  During  the  Parliamentary  wars  it  was 
held  at  first  for  the  Parliament,  and  was  taken  by 
siege  in  1643.  T^^^  royalists  were  in  possession 
two  years  later,  and  at  Christmas  time,  in  1645, 
Parliament  ordered  that  the  Castle  be  dismantled, 
which  was  effectively  done.  The  latest  proprie- 
tor of  those  times  was  James,  Earl  of  Derby. 
He  was  executed  and  the  estates  were  sold. 
They  were  purchased  by  Sergeant  Glynne,  Lord 
Chief  Justice  of  England  under  Cromwell,  from 
whom  in  a  long  line  of  descent  they  were  in- 
herited, upon  the  death  of  the  last  baronet.  Sir 
Stephen  Glynne,  in  1 874,  by  the  wife  of  William 
E.  Gladstone.  Sergeant  Glynne's  son,  Sir  Wil- 
liam, the  first  baronet,  when  he  came  into 
possession,  was  seized  with  the  unaccountable 
notion  of  further  destroying  the  old  Castle,  and 
by  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  very  little 
remained  beyond  what  stands  to-day. 

Hawarden  is  supposed  to  be  synonymous 
with  the  word  Burg-Ardden,  Ardin,  a  fortified 
mound  or  hill.  It  is  usually  supposed  to  be  an 
English  word,  but  of  Welsh  derivation,  and  is  no 
doubt  related  to  dinas,  in  Welsh  the  exact 
equivalent  to  the  Saxon  dur£;  The  Welsh  still 
call  it  Penarlas,  a  word  the  etymology  of  which 
points  to  a  period  when  the  lowlands  of  Saltney 


174 


William  E.  Gladstone 


were  under  water,  and  the  Castle  looked  over  a 
lake.  The  earlier  history  of  the  Castle  goes 
back  to  the  time  when  it  was  held  by  the  ancient 


A  Glimpse  of  the  Castle  feom  the  Pabk. 


Britons,  and  stood  firm  against  Saxon,  Dane,  or 
whatever    invading   foe  sought   to   deprive  the 


Travels  and  Marriage  175 

people  of  tHeir  heritage  in  the  soil.  Oo  the  in. 
vasion  of  William,  as  we  have  seen,  it  wsls  in  the 
possession  of  Edwin,  sovereign  of  Deira.  "  We 
find  it  afterwards,"  says  another  acconnt,  "  in  the 
possession  of  Roger  Fitzvalarine,  a  son  of  one  of 
the  adventurers  who  came  over  with  the  Con- 
queror. Then  it  was  held,  subordinately,  by  the 
Monthault,  or  Montalt,  family,  the  stewards  of 
the  palatinate  of  Chester.  It  is  remarkable,  as 
we  noticed  in  our  story  of  Hughenden  Manor, 
that  as  the  traditions  of  that  ancient  place 
touched  the  memory  of  Simon  de  Montfort,  the 
great  Earl  of  Leicester,  so  do  they  also  in  the 
story  of  the  old  Castle  of  Hawarden.  Here 
Llevv^elyn,  the  last  native  prince  of  Wales,  held  a 
memorable  conference  with  the  Earl.  With  inthe 
walls  of  Hawarden  was  signed  the  treaty  of  peace 
between  Wales  and  Cheshire,  not  long  to  last ; 
here  Llewelyn  saw  the  beautiful  daughter  of 
De  Montfort,  whose  memory  haunted  him  so 
tenderly  and  so  long.  Again  we  find  the  Castle  in 
the  possession  of  the  Montalt  family,  from  whom 
it  descended  to  the  Stanleys,  the  Earl  of  Derby. 
*  *  *  Here  the  last  native  princes  of  Wales, 
Llewelyn  and  David,  attempted  to  grasp  their 
crumbling  sceptre.  Here  no  doubt  halted  Edward 
I,  *  girt  with  many  a  baron  bold ; '  here  the 
Tudor  prince,  Henry  VII,  of  Welsh  birth,  visited 
in  the  later  years  of  the  fifteenth  century ;  and 
this  was  the  occasion  upon  which  it  passed  into 


1/6  William  E.  Gladstone 

the  family  wHose  representatives  had  proclaimed 
him  monarch  on  Bosworth  field.  But  when 
James,  Earl  of  Derby,  was  beheaded,  after  the 
battle  of  Worcester,  in  1651,  the  estate  was 
purchased  under  the  Sequestration  Act  by  Ser- 
geant Glynne,  whose  portrait  hangs  over  the 
mantleshelf  of  the  drawing-room ;  ^  but,'  says  Mrs. 
Gladstone,  in  calling  our  attention  to  it,  ^  he  is  an 
ancestor  of  whom  we  have  no  occasion  to  be  and 
are  not  proud.' " 

This  remark  of  Mrs.  Gladstone's  may  be 
explained  by  the  following  from  the  pen  of  a 
reputable  author :  "  Sergeant  Glynne,  who  flour- 
ished (literally  flourished)  during  the  seventeenth 
century,  was  a  most  unscrupulous  man  in  those 
troubled  times.  He  was  at  first  a  supporter  of 
Charles  I,  then  got  office  and  preferment  under 
Cromwell,  and  yet  again,  like  a  veritable  Vicar 
of  Bray,  became  a  Royalist  on  the  return  of 
Charles  II.  The  Earl  of  Derby,  who  was  taken 
prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Worcester,  in  1661,  was 
executed,  and  his  estates  forfeited.  Of  these 
estates  Sergeant  Glynne  managed  to  get  posses- 
sion of  Hawarden ;  and  though  on  the  Restora- 
tion all  Royalists'  forfeited  estates  were  ordered 
to  be  restored,  Glynne  managed  somehow  to 
remain  in  possession  of  the  property." 

It  is  very  probable  that  Hawarden  Castle 
was  no  exception  to  those  cruel  haunts  of  feudal 


Travels  and  Marriage 


177 


tyranny  and  oppression  belonging  to  tlie  days  of 
its  power.  Many  years  ago,  when  the  rubbish 
was   cleared  away  beneath   the   Castle  ruin,  a 


Waterfall  in  Hawaedkn  Pakk. 

flight  of  steps  was   found,  at  the  foot  of  which 
was  a  door,  and  a  draw-bridge,  which  crossed  a 


17^  William  e.  Gladstone 

long,  deep  chasm,  neatly  faced  with  freestone; 
then  another  door  leading  to  several  small  rooms, 
all,  probably,  places  of  confinement ;  and  those 
hollows,  now  fringed  with  timber  trees,  in  those 
days  constituted  a  broad,  deep  fosse. 

The  old  Hawarden  Castle,  a  curious  ruin  cov- 
ered  with  moss  and  ivy,  like  many  other  ancient 
piles  of  stone  in  historic  England,  is  a  reminder 
of  a  past  and  warlike  age,  when  an  Englishman's 
home  had  to  be  a  castle  to  protect  him  and  his 
family  from  his  enemies.  But  times  have 
changed  for  the  better,  and  long  immunity  from 
internal  foes  and  invading  armies  has  had  its 
peaceful  effects  upon  the  lands  and  the  homes  of 
men.  As  the  grounds  of  Hawarden  show  the 
remarkable  cultivation  produced  by  long  periods 
of  peaceful  toil,  so  the  ancient  castle  has  given 
way  for  the  modem  dwelling,  a  peaceful  abode 
whose  only  protecting  wall  is  that  with  which 
the  law  surrounds  it. 

Modern  Hawarden  Castle  is  a  castle  only  in 
name.  The  new  ^'  Castle  "  has  been  the  home 
of  the  Glynns'  for  generations,  and  ever  since 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  Gladstone  and  Miss  Glynn 
has  been  the  dwelling  of  the  Gladstones.  Mr. 
Gladstone  has  greatly  improved  the  Hawarden 
estate  and  the  castle  has  not  been  overlooked. 
Among  the  improvements  to  the  castle  may  be 
named  the  additions  to  the  library  and  the 
Golden  Wedding  Porch. 


Travels  and  Marriage  179 

The  new  Castle  was  begun  in  1752,  by  Sir 
Jobn  Glynne,  who  "  created  a  stout,  honest, 
square,  red-brick  mansion ;  "  which  was  added  to 
and  altered  in  the  Gothic  style  in  1814.  The 
Glynnes  lived  in  Oxfordshire  till  early  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  when  they  built  themselves 
a  small  house,  which  was  on  the  site  of  the  present 
Castle.  The  new  Hawarden  Castle  stands  in 
front  of  the  massive  ruin  of  the  old  Castle, 
which  has  looked  down  on  the  surrounding 
country  for  six  centuries.  A  recent  writer 
speaking  of  the  new  structure  as  a  sham  Castle, 
with  its  plaster  and  stucco,  and  imitation  turrets, 
says  :  "It  would  not  have  been  surprising  if  the 
old  Castle  had,  after  the  manner  of  Jewish  chiv- 
alry, torn  its  hair  of  thickly  entwined  ivy,  rent 
its  garments  of  moss  and  lichen,  and  fallen  down 
prostrate,  determined  forever  to  shut  out  the 
sight  of  the  modern  monstrosity." 

However,  the  author  somewhat  relents  and 
thus  describes  the  modern  edifice : 

"  The  aspect  of  the  house  is  very  impressive 
and  imposing,  as  it  first  suddenly  seems  to  start 
upon  the  view  after  a  long  carriage-drive  through 
the  noble  trees,  if  not  immediately  near,  but 
breaking  and  brightening  the  view  on  either 
hand ;  yet,  within  and  without,  the  house  seems 
like  its  mighty  master — not  pensive  but  rural ; 
it  does  not  even  breathe  the  spirit  of  quiet.  Its 
rooms  look  active  and  power-compelling,  and  we 


ij.t!!ii.'i|,!j%lte:^:;:=: 


Travels  and  Marriage  iSi 

could  not  but  feel  that  they  were  not  indebted  to 
any  of  the  sesthetic  inventions  and  elegancies  of 
furniture  for  their  charm.  Thus  v^e  have  heard 
of  one  visitor  pathetically  exclaiming,  '  Not  one 
dado  adorns  the  walls  ! '  Hawarden  is  called  a 
Castle,  but  it  has  not,  either  in  its  exterior  or 
interior,  the  aspect  of  a  Castle.  It  is  a  home ;  it 
has  a  noble  appearance  as  it  rises  on  the  elevated 
ground,  near  the  old  feudal  ruin  which  it  has 
superseded,  and  looks  over  the  grand  and  forest- 
like park,  the  grand  pieces  of  broken  ground, 
dells  and  hollows,  and  charming  woodlands." 

The  traditional  history  of  Hawarden  Church, 
as  well  as  that  of  the  Castle,  travels  back  to  a  very 
remote  antiquity,  and  is  the  central  point  of 
interest  to  many  a  tragedy,  and  some  of  a  very 
grotesque  character.  For  instance,  for  many 
ages  the  inhabitants  of  Hawarden  were  called 
^^  Harden  Jews,"  and  for  this  designation  we  have 
the  following  legendary  account.  In  the  year 
946,  during  the  reign  of  Cynan  ap  EHsap 
Anarawd,  King  of  Gwynedd  North,  there  was  a 
Christian  temple  at  Harden,  and  a  rood-loft,  in 
which  was  placed  an  image  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
with  a  very  large  cross  in  her  hands,  which  was 
called  "holy  rood."  During  a  very  hot  and 
dry  summer  the  inhabitants  prayed  much  and 
ardently  for  rain,  but  without  any  efifect.  Among 
the  rest,  Lady  Trowst,  wife  of  Sytsyllt,  governor 
of  Harden  Castle,  went  also  to  pray,  when,  during 


i82  William  E.  Gladstone 

this  exercise,  tlie  holy  rood  fell  upon  her  head 
and  killed  her.  Such  behavior  upon  the  part 
of  this  wooden  Virgin  could  be  tolerated  no 
longer.  A  great  tumult  ensued  in  consequence, 
and  it  was  concluded  to  try  the  said  Virgin  for 
murder,  and  the  jury  not  only  found  her  guilty 
of  wilful  murder,  but  of  inattention  in  not 
answering  the  prayers  of  innumerable  petitioners. 
The  sentence  was  hanging,  but  Span,  of  Mancot, 
who  was  one  of  the  jury,  opposed  this  act  saying 
it  was  best  to  drown,  since  it  was  rain  they 
prayed  for.  This  was  fiercely  opposed  by  Corbin, 
of  the  gate,  who  advised  that  she  should  be  laid 
on  the  sands  by  the  river.  So,  this  being  done, 
the  tide  carried  the  lady,  floating  gently,  like 
another  lady,  Elaine,  upon  its  soft  bosom,  and 
placed  her  near  the  walls  of  Cserleon  (now 
Chester),  where  she  was  found  next  day,  says 
the  legend,  drowned  and  dead.  Here  the  inhab- 
itants of  Casrleon  buried  her.  Upon  this  occa- 
sion, it  is  said,  the  river,  which  had  until  then 
been  called  the  Usk,  was  changed  to  Rood  Die, 
or  Rood  Dee.  We  need  not  stay  here  to  analyze 
some  things  belonging  to  locality  and  etymology, 
which  appear  to  us  somewhat  anachronistic  and 
contradictory  in  this  ancient  and  queer  legend. 

Hawarden  Church  is  a  fairly  large  structure, 
externally  a  plain  old  brick  building  with  a  low 
tower  and  a  dwarf  spire,  standing  in  the  midst  of 
a  large  population  of  graves.     There  is  preserved 


m^m^&'^^^^^u&^^^^^fm^^W^ 


,^% 


Gladstone  Reading  the  Lessons  at  Ha  warden  Chuech. 


TRAVELS  AND  MARRIAGE  183 

in  the  annals  of  tlie  Clinrcli  a  list  of  tlie  rectors 
of  Hawarden  as  far  back  as  1180. 

About  forty  years  ago  a  fire  broke  out  in  the 
Churcli,  and  wben  all  was  over,  very  little  was 
left  of  tbe  original  structure  except  the  walls.  It 
was  restored  with  great  expedition,  and  was  re- 
opened within  the  same  year.  The  present 
building  is  a  restoration  to  the  memory  of  the 
immediate  ancestor,  from  whom  the  estate  is 
derived  by  the  present  family.  It  is  the  centre  of 
hard,  earnest  work,  done  for  an  exceptionally  large 
parish.  But  the  Church  population  is  occasion- 
ally recruited  from  all  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

It  is  here  that  the  Gladstone  family  worship 
in  the  plain,  uncushioned  pew,  near  the  lectern 
and  opposite  the  pulpit.  When  the  estates  came 
into  the  hands  of  the  Glynnes  the  living  was 
bestowed  upon  a  member  of  the  family.  The 
rector  is  Rev.  Stephen  Gladstone,  second  son  of 
the  Premier.  He  is  not  a  great  preacher,  but  he 
is  quietly  earnest  and  instructive.  Mr.  Gladstone 
was  up  early  on  Sunday  mornings  and  seldom 
failed  to  be  in  hisj)ew  at  Church.  Crowds  filled  the 
Church  Sunday,  morning  and  evening,  week  after 
week,  many  of  them  strangers,  to  see  the  Prime 
Minister  of  England,  and  behold  him  leave  his 
pew  and,  standing  at  the  reading-desk,  go  through 
his  part  of  the  service — that  of  reading  the 
lessons  for  the  day,  in  this  obscure  village 
Church.     After  church  Mr.  Gladstone  went  to 


184:  William  E.  Gladstone 

the  rectory  with  his  family,  with  his  cloak  only 
over  his  shoulders,  when  the  weather  required,  and 
as  he  walked  along  the  path  through  the  church- 
yard would  bow  to  the  crowds  that  stood  on 
either  side  uncovered  to  greet  him  as  he  passed 
by.  The  two  brothers,  until  recently,  lived  at 
the  rectory,  and  the  whole  family  seemed  to  live  in 
the  most  beautiful  harmony  together. 

Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gladstone  attribute  much 
of  his  health  to  the  fact  that  he  will  have  his 
Sabbath  to  himself  and  his  family,  undisturbed 
by  any  of  the  agitations  of  business,  the  cares  of 
State,  or  even  the  recreations  of  literature  and 
scholastic  study.  This  profound  public  regard 
for  the  day  of  rest,  whether  in  London  or  at 
Hawarden,  awakens  a  feeling  of  admiration  and 
puts  us  in  mind  of  his  great  predecessor  in 
statesmanship,  Cecil,  Lord  Burleigh,  who,  when 
he  arrived  at  Theobalds  on  a  Saturday  evening, 
would  throw  off  his  cloak  or  chain  of  office  and 
exclaim,  '  Lie  there  and  rest,  my  good  lord 
treasurer." 

One  of  the  main  points  of  interest  at  the  home 
of  Mr.  Gladstone  is  the  library.  There  is  not  a 
room  in  Hawarden  Castle  in  which  there  is  not 
an  abundance  of  books,  which  are  not  all  col- 
lected in  the  library,  but  distributed  all  over  the 
house.  Where  other  people  have  cabinets  for 
curiosities,  china,  etc.,  there  are  here  shelves  and 
cases  full  of  books.    In  ante-room  and  bed-room, 


TRAVELS  AND  MARRIAGE. 


185 


dressing-room  and  nursery  they  are  found,  not 
by  single  volumes,  but  in  serried  ranks ;   well- 


Thb  Rev.  H.  Drew,  Waeden  of  St.  Deniol's. 

known  and  useful  books.    But  it  is  in  tbe  library 
wbere  Mr.  Gladstone  has  collected  by  years  of 


i86 


WILLIAM  E.   GLADSTONE 


careful  selection,  a  most  valuable  and  large  array 
of  books,  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  upon  every 
subject.        These   books   are  classified  and    so 


Doeothy's  Dovecote 


arranged  as  to  be  of  immediate  use.       All  those 
on  one  particular  subject  are  grouped  together. 


TRAVELS  AND  MARRIAGE  187 

Mr.  Gladstone  was  a  familiar  figure  in  the 
book  stores,  and  especially  where  rare,  old  books 
were  to  be  found,  and  he  seldom  failed  to  return 
home  with  some  book  in  his  pocket.  Mrs.  Glad- 
stone is  said  to  have  gone  through  his  pockets 
often  upon  his  return  home,  and  sent  back  many 
a  volume  to  the  book-seller,  that  had  found  its 
way  to  the  pocket  of  her  husband,  after  a  hasty 
glance  at  its  title.  He  kept  himself  informed  of 
all  that  was  going  on  in  the  literary,  scientific 
and  artistic  worlds,  receiving  each  week  a  parcel 
of  the  newest  books  for  his  private  readings. 
Every  day  he  looked  over  several  book-sellers's 
catalogues,  and  certain  subjects  were  sure  of  get- 
ting an  order. 

Hawarden  library  gave  every  evidence  of  be- 
ing for  use,  and  not  show.  Mr.  Gladstone  knew 
what  books  he  had  and  was  familiar  with  their 
contents.  Some  books  were  in  frequent  use,  but 
others  were  not  forgotten.  He  could  put  his 
hand  on  any  one  he  wanted  to  refer  to.  At  the 
end  of  a  volume  read  he  would  construct  an 
index  of  his  own  by  which  he  could  find  pas- 
sages to  which  he  wished  to  refer. 

There  are  few  stories  that  Mr.  Gladstone  told 
with  greater  relish  than  one  concerning  Sir 
Antonio  Panizzi,  who  many  years  ago  visited  the 
library  at  Hawarden.  Looking  round  the  room 
and  at  its  closely  packed  shelves,  he  observed  in 
a  patronizing  tone,   ''  I  see  you  have  got  some 


1 88  William  e.  Gladstone 

books  Here."  Nettled  at  this  seemingly  slight- 
ing allusion  to  the  paucity  of  his  library,  Mr. 
Gladstone  asked  Panizzi  how  many  volumes  he 
thought  were  on  the  shelves.  Panizzi  replied: 
^'  From  five  to  six  thousand."  Then  a  loud  and 
exulting  laugh  rang  round  the  room  as  Mr. 
Gladstone  answered:  '^  You  are  wrong  by  at  least 
two  thousand,  as  there  are  eight  thousand  vol- 


DiNiNG  Room  in  the  Oephanage,  Ha  warden. 


umes  and  more  before  you  now."        Since  then 
the  library  has  grown  rapidly. 

The  fate  of  this  large  library  was  naturally  a 
matter  of  much  consideration  to  Mr.  Gladstone. 
It  was  particularly  rich  in  classical  and  theologi- 
cal works,  so  it  occured  to  its  owner  to  form  a 
uublic  library  under  a  trusteeship,  for  the  bene- 
fit of  students,  under  the  care  of  the  Rector  of 


TRAVELS  AND  MARRIAGE 


1S9 


Hawarden,  or  some  other  clergyman.  So  lie 
caused  to  be  erected  at  a  cost  to  him  of  about 
$5,000,  a  corrugated  iron  building  on  a  knoll 
just  outside  Hawarden  Church.  The  name  of 
this  parish  library  is  "  The  St.  Deiniol's  Theo- 
logical and  General  Library  of  Hawarden.'^     In 


Staircase  in  the  Ohphanage,  Hawarden. 

1891,  Mr.  Gladstone  had  deposited  about  20,000 
volumes  upon  the  shelves  in  this  new  building, 
with  his  own  hands,  which  books  were  carried 
in  hand-carts  from  the  castle.  Since  that  time 
thousands  have  been  added  to  this  valuable 
collection. 


IQO 


WILLIAM   E.  GLADSTONE 


It  was  a  happy  tHought  of  Mr.  Gladstone  to 
found  a  theological  library  in  tlie  immediate 
vicinity  of  Hawarden ;  also  to  liave  connected 
with  it  a  hostel  where  students  could  be  boarded 
and  lodged  for  six  dollars  a  week  and  thus  be 
enabled  to  use  the  library  in  the  pursuit  of  their 
studies.  Mr.  Gladstone  has  endowed  the  insti- 
tution with  $150,000.  Rev.  H.  Drew,  the  son- 
in-law  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  is  warden  and  librarian. 


Hawabden  Chuech. 


.  ..-  ■  ■,:v. ',.■..;.■.  ■. s^.  ■     ■ —  1 

Ml 

<^m'w 

W^^M^ 

T^"*^-^ 

CHAPTER  VI 
Enters  the  Cabinet 


^^4^E  come  now  to  another  memo*-/Ue 
g/Lf  period  in  the  life  of  William  E.  Glad- 
^j  stone.  This  period,  beginning  with 
1840,  has  been  styled  "  a  memorable 
decade  "  in  the  history  of  Parliament. 
His  marriage  and  the  publication  of  his  first 
book  were  great  events  in  his  eventful  life,  but 
the  young  and  brilliant  statesman  was  soon  to 
anter  the  British  Cabinet.  He  was  before  long 
to  demonstrate  that  he  not  only  possessed  the 
arts  of  the  fluent  and  vigorous  Parliamentary 
debater,  but  the  more  solid  qualities  pertaining 
to  the  practical  statesman  and  financier.  In 
following  his  course  we  will  be  led  to  observe  the 
early  stages  of  his  changing  opinions  on  great 
questions  of  State,  and  to  trace  the  causes  which 
led  to  his  present  advanced  views  as  well  as  to  his 
exalted  position.  The  estimation  in  which  he 
was  then  held  may  be  indicated  by  the  following, 
from  one  of  his  contemporaries.  Sir  Stafford 
Nortbcote,  afterwards  lyord  Iddesleigh,  and  who 


IQ2  William  E.  Gladstone 

subsequently  succeeded  liim  as  leader  of  tlie 
House  of  Commons  :  "  There  is  but  one  states- 
man of  tbe  present  day  in  whom  I  feel  entire 
confidence,  and  with  whom  I  cordially  agree,  and 
that  statesman  is  Mr.  Gladstone.  I  look  upon 
him  as  the  representative  of  the  party,  scarcely 
developed  as  yet,  though  secretly  forming  and 
strengthening,  which  will  stand  by  all  that  is 
dear  and  sacred  in  my  estimation,  in  the  struggle 
which  I  believe  will  come  ere  very  long  between 
good  and  evil,  order  and  disorder,  the  Church  and 
the  world,  and  I  see  a  very  small  band  collecting 
round  him,  and  ready  to  fight  manfully  under 
his  leading." 

In  1840  Mr.  Gladstone  crossed  swords  with 
the  distinguished  historian  and  Parliamentary 
debater.  Lord  Macaulay,  in  debate  in  the  House 
of  Commons  on  the  relations  of  England  with 
China.  The  speech  of  Mr.  Gladstone  was  re- 
markable for  its  eloquent  expression  of  anxiety 
that  the  arms  of  England  should  never  be 
employed  in  unrighteous  enterprises.  Sir  James 
Graham  moved  a  vote  of  censure  of  the  ministry 
for  "  want  of  foresight  and  precaution,"  and 
"  especially  their  neglect  to  furnish  the  superin- 
tendent at  Canton  with  powers  and  instructions 
calculated  to  provide  against  the  growing  evils 
connected  with  the  contraband  traffic  in  opium, 
and  adapted  to  the  novel  and  difficult  situation  in 
which    the    superintendent    was    placed."     Mr, 


ENTERS  THE   CABINET  ^93 

Gladstone,  on  the  Sth  of  April,  spoke  strongly  in 
favor  of  the  motion,  and  said  if  it  failed  to  involve 
the  ministry  in  condemnation  they  would  still 
be  called  upon  to  show  cause  for  their  intention 
of  making  war  upon  China.  Answering  the 
speech  of  Lord  Macaulay  of  the  previous  evening, 
Mr.  Gladstone  said :  '^  The  right  honorable 
gentleman  opposite  spoke  last  night  in  eloquent 
terms  of  the  British  flag  waving  in  glory  at 
Canton,  and  of  the  animating  effects  produced  on 
the  minds  of  our  sailors  by  the  knowledge  that 
in  no  country  under  heaven  was  it  permitted  to 
be  insulted.  But  how  comes  it  to  pass  that  the 
sight  of  that  flag  always  raises  the  spirit  of 
Englishmen  ?  It  is  because  it  has  always  been 
associated  with  the  cause  of  justice,  with  oppo- 
sition to  oppression,  with  respect  to  national 
rights,  with  honorable  commercial  enterprises ; 
but  now,  under  the  auspices  of  the  noble  lord, 
that  flag  is  hoisted  to  protect  an  infamous  con- 
traband traf&c,  and  if  it  were  never  to  be  hoisted 
except  as  it  is  now  hoisted  on  the  coast  of  China, 
we  should  recoil  from  its  sight  with  horror,  and 
should  never  again  feel  our  hearts  thrill,  as  they 
now  thrill  with  emotion,  when  it  floats  proudly 
and  nlagnificently  on  the  breeze."  The  ministry 
escaped  censure  when  the  vote  was  taken  by  a 
bare  majority. 

In  the  summer  of  1840  Mr.  Gladstone,  ac- 
companied by  lyord  Lyttleton,  went  to  Eton  to 


194  William  E.  Gladstone 

examine  candidates  of  tHe  Newcastle  Sdiolar- 
sHip,  founded  by  Hs  political  friend,  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle.  Mr.  Gladstone  had  the  pleasure  in 
this  examination  of  awarding  the  Newcastle  medal 
to  Henry  Fitzmaurice  Eiallam,  the  youngest 
brother  of  his  own  beloved  friend  and  son  of 
the  historian  Hallam.  One  of  the  scholars  he 
examined  writes  :  ^'  I  have  a  vivid  and  delightful 
impression  of  Mr.  Gladstone  sitting  in  what  was 
then  called  the  library,  on  an  estrade  on  which 
the  head  master  habitually  sate,  above  which 
was  placed,  about  1840,  the  bust  of  the  Duke 
of  Newcastle  and  the  names  of  the  Newcastle 
scholars.  .  .  .  When  he  gave  me  a  Virgil 
and  asked  me  to  translate  Georg.  ii,  475,  seq.^  I 
was  pleasantly  surprised  by  the  beautiful  eye 
turning  on  me  with  the  question,  ^  What  is  the 
meaning  of  sacra  fero  ?  ^  and  his  look  of  approval 
when  I  said,  ^  Carry  the  sacred  vessels  in  the 
procession.'  '* 

"  I  wish  you  to  understand  that  Mr.  Glad- 
stone appeared  not  to  me  only,  but  to  others,  as 
a  gentleman  wholly  unlike  other  examiners  or 
school  people.  It  was  not  as  2.  politiciaji  that  we 
admired  him,  but  as  a  refined  Churchman,  deep 
also  in  political  philosophy  (so  we  conjectured 
from  his  quoting  Burke  on  the  Continual  State 
retaining  its  identity  though  made  up  of  passing 
individuals),  deep  also  in  lofty  poetry,  as  we 
guessed  from  li,is    giving  us,  as  a  theme  for 


Enters  the  Cabinet  X95 

original  Latin  verse,  '  the  poet's  eye  in  a  fine 
frenzy/  etc.  When  he  spoke  to  us  in  ^  Pop  '  as 
an  honorary  member,  we  were  charmed  and 
affected  emotionally :  his  voice  was  low  and 
sweet,  his  manner  was  that  of  an  elder  cousin : 
he  seemed  to  treat  us  with  unaffected  respect ; 
and  to  be  treated  with  respect  by  a  man  is  the 
greatest  delight  for  a  boy.  It  was  the  golden 
time  of  *  retrograding  transcendentalism,'  as  the 
hard-heads  called  the  Anglo-Catholic  symphony. 
He  seemed  to  me  then  an  apostle  of  unworldly 
ardor,  bridling  his  life." 

The  Whig  administration,  which  for  some 
time  had  been  growing  very  unpopular,  was 
defeated  and  went  out  of  power  in  1841.  From 
the  very  beginning  of  the  session  their  overthrow 
was  imminent.  Among  the  causes  which  ren- 
dered the  ministry  obnoxious  to  the  country,  and 
led  to  their  downfall,  may  be  named  the  dis- 
appointment of  both  their  dissenting  English 
supporters  and  Irish  allies  ;  their  financial  policy 
had  proved  a  complete  failure  and  dissatisfied  the 
nation ;  and  the  deficit  in  the  revenue  this  year 
amounted  to  no  less  a  sum  than  two  millions  and 
a  half  pounds.  Every  effort  to  remedy  the 
financial  difficulties  offered  by  the  ministry  to 
the  House  was  rejected.  Hence  it  was  felt  on 
all  sides  that  the  government  of  the  country  must 
be  committed  to  stronger  hands.  Accordingly,  in 
May,  Sir  Robert  Peel  proposed  a  resolution  in  the 


iqS  William  E.  Gladstone 

House  of  Commons  to  the  effect  that  the  min- 
istry did  not  possess  suf&ciently  the  confidence 
of  the  House  to  carry  through  measures  deemed 
essential  for  the  public  welfare  ;  and  that  their 
continuance  in  office  was,  under  the  circumstances, 
at  variance  with  the  Constitution.  For  five  days 
this  resolution  was  discussed,  but  Mr.  Gladstone 
took  no  part  in  the  debate.  The  motion  of  Sir 
Robert  Peel  passed  by  a  majority  vote  of  one, 
and  on  the  7th  of  June  Lord  John  Russell 
announced  that  the  ministry  would  at  once  dis- 
solve Parliament  and  appeal  to  the  country. 
Parliament  was  prorogued  by  the  Queen  in  per- 
son June  2 2d,  and  the  country  was  soon  in  the 
turmoil  of  a  general  election.  By  the  end  of 
July  it  was  found  that  the  ministry  had  been 
defeated  and  with  greater  loss  than  the  Tories 
even  had  expected.  The  Tories  had  a  great 
majority  of  the  new  members  returned.  The 
Liberal  seats  gained  by  the  Tories  were  seventy- 
eight,  while  the  Tory  seats  gained  by  Liberals 
were  only  thirty- eight,  thus  making  a  Tory 
majority  of  eighty.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  again 
elected  at  Newark,  and  was  at  the  head  of  the 
poll ;  with  Lord  John  Manners,  afterwards  Duke 
of  Rutland,  as  his  colleague. 

The  new  Parliament  met  in  August,  and 
the  ministers  were  defeated,  in  both  Houses,  on 
the  Address  and  resigned.  Sir  Robert  Peel  was 
called  upon  by  the  Queen  to  form  a  new  ministry, 


Enters  the  Cabinet  -^97 

and  Mr.  Gladstone  was  included  by  his  leader  in 
the  administration.  In  appearing  on  the  hust- 
ings at  Newark  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  there 
were  two  points  upon  which  the  British  farmer 
might  rely — the  first  being  that  adequate  pro- 
tection would  be  given  him,  and,  second,  that  pro- 
tection would  be  given  him  through  the  means  of 
the  sliding  scale.  The  duties  were  to  be  reduced 
and  the  system  improved,  but  the  principle  was  to 
be  maintained.  "  There  was  no  English  states- 
man who  could  foresee  at  this  period  the  results 
of  that  extraordinary  agitation  which,  in  the 
course  of  the  next  five  years,  was  destined  to 
secure  the  abrogation  of  the  Corn  Laws." 

There  is  a  tradition  that,  having  already 
conceived  a  lively  interest  in  the  ecclesiastical 
and  agrarian  problems  of  Ireland,  Mr.  Gladstone 
had  set  his  affections  on  the  Chief  Secretaryship. 
But  Sir  Robert  Peel,  a  consummate  judge  of 
administrative  capacity,  had  discerned  his  young 
friend's  financial  aptitude,  and  the  member  for 
Newark  became  vice-president  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  and  master  of  the  Mint. 

Although  in  the  midst  of  engrossing  cares 
of  office  as  vice-president  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
yet  Mr.  Gladstone  found  time  to  renew  his  old 
interest  in  ecclesiastical  concerns.  In  the  fall  of 
1 84 1  an  English  Episcopal  Bishopric  was  estab- 
lished at  Jerusalem.  Mr.  Gladstone  dined  with 
Baron  Bunsen  on  the  birthday  of  the  King  of 


iqS  William  E.  Gladstone 

Prussia,  when,  as  reported  by  Lord  Shaftesbury, 
lie  "  stripped  liimself  of  a  part  of  his  Puseyite 
garments,  spoke  like  a  pious  man,  rejoiced  in  the 
bishopric  of  Jerusalem,  and  proposed  the  health 
of  Alexander,  the  new  Bishop  of  that  see.  This 
is  delightful,  for  he  is  a  good  man,  a  clever  man 
and  an  industrious  man."  And  Baron  Bunsen, 
speaking  of  the  same  occasion,  said,  '^  Never  was 
heard  a  more  exquisite  speech.  It  flowed  like  a 
gentle,  translucent  stream.  We  drove  back  to 
town  in  the  clearest  starlight ;  Gladstone  con- 
tinuing with  unabated  animation  to  pour  forth 
his  harmonious  thoughts  in  melodious  tone." 
And  Mr.  Gladstone  himself  writes  later :  *'  Amidst 
public  business,  quite  sufficient  for  a  man  of  my 
compass,  I  have,  during  the  whole  of  the  week, 
perforce,  been  carrying  on  with  the  Bishop  of 
London  and  with  Bunsen  a  correspondence  on, 
and  inquisition  into,  the  Jerusalem  design, 
until  I  almost  reel  and  stagger  under  it." 

And  still  later  he  writes  :  "I  am  ready  in- 
dividually to  brave  misconstruction  for  the  sake 
of  union  with  any  Christian  men,  provided 
the  terms  of  the  union  be  not  contrary  to  sound 
principle  ;  and  perhaps  in  this  respect  might  go 
further,  at  least  in  one  of  the  possible  directions, 
than  you.  But  to  declare  the  living  constitution 
of  a  Christian  Church  to  be  of  secondary  moment 
is  of  course  in  my  view  equivalent  to  a  denial  of 
a  portion  of  the  faith — and  I  think  you  will  say 


Enters  the  Cabinet 


199 


it  IS  a  construction  which  can  not  fairly  be  put 
upon  the  design,  as  far  as  it  exists  in  fixed  rules 
and  articles.  It  is  one  thing  to  attribute  this  in 
the  way  of  unfavorable  surmise,  or  as  an  appre- 
hension of  ultimate  developments — it  is  another 
to  publish  it  to  the  world  as  a  character  ostenta- 
tiously assumed." 

We  have  evidence  also  that  at  this  time  he 
was  not  permitted  to  forget  that  he  was  an 
author,  for  he  thus  writes,  April  6,  1842,  to  his 
publisher :  "  Amidst  the  pressure  of  more  urgent 
affairs,  I  have  held  no  consultation  with  you 
regarding  my  books  and  the  sale  or  no  sale  of 
them.  As  to  the  third  edition  of  the  ^  State  in 
its  Relations,'  I  should  think  that  the  remaining 
copies  had  better  be  got  rid  of  in  whatever  sum- 
mary or  ignominious  mode  you  may  deem  best. 
They  must  be  dead  beyond  recall.  As  to  the 
others,  I  do  not  know  whether  the  season  of  the 
year  has  at  all  revived  the  demand  ;  and  would 
suggest  to  you  whether  it  would  be  well  to  adver- 
tise them  a  little.  I  do  not  think  they  find  their 
way  much  into  the  second-hand  shops.  With 
regard  to  the  fourth  edition,  I  do  not  know 
whether  it  would  be  well  to  procure  any  review 
or  notice  of  it,  and  I  am  not  a  fair  judge  of  its 
merits,  even  in  comparison  with  the  original  form 
of  the  work  ;  but  my  idea  is  that  it  is  less  defect- 
ive, both  in  the  theoretical  and  in  the  historical 
development,  and  ought  to  be  worth  the  notice 


200  William  E.  Gladstone 

of  those  who  deemed  the  earlier  editions  worth 
their  notice  and  purchase  ;  that  it  would  really 
put  a  reader  in  possession  of  the  view  it  was 
intended  to  convey,  which  I  fear  is  more  than  can 
with  any  truth  be  said  of  its  predecessors.  I  am 
not,  however,  in  any  state  of  anxiety  or  im- 
patience ;  and  I  am  chiefly  moved  to  refer  these 
suggestions  to  your  judgment  from  perceiving 
that  the  fourth  edition  is  as  yet  far  from 
having  cleared  itself." 

It  was  from  this  time  that  a  marked  change 
was  observable  in  the  subjects  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Parliamentary  addresses.  "  Instead  of  speaking 
on  the  corporate  conscience  of  the  State  and  the 
endowments  of  the  Church,  the  importance  of 
Christian  education  and  the  theological  unfitness 
of  the  Jews  to  sit  in  Parliament,  he  was  solving 
business-like  problems  about  foreign  tariffs  and 
the  exportation  of  machinery  ;  waxing  eloquent 
over  the  regulation  of  railways  and  a  graduated 
tax  on  corn ;  subtle  on  the  momentary  merits  of 
half-farthings  and  great  in  the  mysterious  lore  of 
quassia  and  cocculus  indicus." 

In  the  short  session  of  Parliament,  in  1841, 
that  which  followed  the  accession  of  Sir  Robert 
Peel  to  the  office  of  Prime  Minister,  he  was  ques- 
tioned by  his  opponents  as  to  his  future  policy. 
The  Premier  declined  to  state  the  nature  of  the 
measures  he  intended  to  present,  or  which  he  con- 
templated making,  in  the  intervening  months  of 


Enters  the  Cabinet  201 

the  recess  of  Parliament  so  near  at  hand.  He 
wanted  time  for  the  arrangement  of  his  plans  and 
the  construction  of  his  political  programme.  An 
effort  was  made  to  embarrass  the  administration 
by  refusing  to  vote  the  necessary  supplies,  until 
inquiry  should  be  made  into  the  existing  distress, 
but  it  was  defeated.  Three  weeks  later  Parlia- 
ment was  dissolved  by  Royal  commission.  In 
the  following  sitting  of  Parliament  several  meas- 
ures of  high  practical  character  were  presented. 

Sir  Robert  Peel  acceded  to  office  in  very 
critical  times.  The  condition  of  the  country  was 
truly  lamentable.  Distress  and  discontent  were 
widespread  and  the  difficulties  of  the  govern- 
ment were  greatly  enhanced  by  popular  tumults. 
The  Free  Trade  agitation  was  already  making 
great  headway  in  the  land,  and  when  the  Premier 
brought  forward  his  new  sliding  scale  of  duties 
in  the  House  of  Commons  it  was  denounced  by 
Mr.  Cobden  as  an  insult  to  a  suffering  people. 
The  Premier  said  that  he  considered  the  present 
not  an  unfavorable  time  for  discussing  the  corn 
laws  ;  that  there  was  no  great  stock  on  hand  of 
foreign  growth  to  alarm  the  farmers ;  that  the 
recess  had  been  marked  by  universal  calm  ;  that 
there  was  no  popular  violence  to  interrupt  legis- 
lation ;  and  that  there  was  a  disposition  to  view 
any  proposal  for  the  adjustment  of  the  question 

with  calmness  mi  uiQit-mtiQu, 


202  William  E.  Gladstone 

The  Premier's  view  of  the  situation  did  not 
seem  to  be  wholly  in  accord  with  the  well-known, 
facts,  for  the  Queen  even,  on  her  appearance  at 
the  London  theatres,  had  been  hooted,  and  the 
Prime  Minister  himself  was  burnt  in  tfB.gy 
during  a  riot  at  Northampton  ;  great  excitement 
prevailed  throughout  the  country,  and  Lord  John 
Russell  moved  as  an  amendment  "  That  this 
House,  considering  the  evils  which  have  been 
caused  by  the  present  corn  laws  and  especially  by 
the  fluctuation  of  the  graduated  or  sliding  scale, 
is  not  prepared  to  adopt  the  measure  of  her 
Majesty's  government,  which  is  founded  on  the 
same  principles  and  is  likely  to  be  attended  by 
similar  results. '^ 

It  was  incumbent  upon  Mr.  Gladstone  to 
lead  the  opposition  to  this  motion.  He  showed 
that  the  proposed  plan  was  not  founded  on  the 
same  principle  of  the  existing  one,  except  that 
both  involved  a  sliding  scale  ;  that  the  present 
distress  was  caused  by  fluctuation  of  the  seasons 
and  not  by  the  laws  ;  that  high  prices  of  food 
were  chargeable  to  successive  failures  of  the  crops ; 
that  these  unavoidable  fluctuations  were  not  ag- 
gravated by  the  corn  laws  ;  that  Sir  Robert  Peel's 
plan  of  working  was  far  superior  to  that  of  Lord 
J  ohn  Russell ;  that  the  drains  upon  the  currency, 
caused  by  bad  harvests,  were  not  to  be  prevented 
by  a  fixed  duty ;  that  a  uniform  protection  could 
not  be  given  to  corn,  as  to  other  articles,  because 


Enters  the  Cabinet  203 

at  liigli  prices  of  corn  no  duty  could  be  main- 
tained, and  that,  tlierefore,  at  low  prices,  it  was 
but  just  to  give  a  duty  which  would  be  an 
effectual  protection.  The  debate  which  followed 
was  characterized  by  vigorous  speeches  from 
Mr.  Roebuck  and  Lord  Palmerston,  Lord  John 
Russeirs  amendment  was  lost  by  a  large  ma- 
jority. A  motion  presented  by  Mr.  Villiers,  the 
Free  Trade  advocate,  for  the  immediate  repeal  of 
the  corn  laws  was  also  lost  by  a  majority  of 
over  three  hundred. 

On  the  nth  of  March  Sir  Robert  Peel 
introduced  his  budget.  The  budget  for  1842 
was  produced  under  depressing  circumstances. 
There  was  a  deficit  of  ;!^2, 750,000,  or  about 
$15,000,000,  and  taxation  upon  articles  of  con- 
sumption had  been  pushed  to  its  utmost  limit. 
Peel  was  a  great  financier,  but  the  fiscal  diffi- 
culties by  which  he  w^as  now  surrounded  were 
enough  to  appall  the  most  ingenious  of  financial 
ministers. 

Mr.  Gladstone  rendered  the  Premier  inval- 
uable service  in  the  preparation  both  of  his 
budget  and  of  his  tariff  scheme.  The  merit  of 
the  budget  was  its  taxation  of  wealth  and  the 
relief  of  the  manufacturing  industry.  The 
second  branch  of  the  financial  plan,  the  revised 
tariflf — a  customs  duties  scheme — was  very  im- 
portant, and  it  was  understood  to  be  mainly  the 
work  of  Mr.  Gladstone.     Out   of  nearly    1200 


204  William  E.  Gladstone 

duty -paying  articles,  a  total  abolition,  or  a  con- 
siderable reduction,  was  made  in  no  fewer  tban 
750.  This  was  certainly  a  great  step  towards 
the  freedom  of  manufacturers.  Sir  Robert  Peel's 
boast  that  he  had  endeavored  to  relieve  manufac- 
turing industries  was  more  than  justified  by 
this  great  and  comprehensive  measure.  The 
very  best  means  for  relieving  the  manufacturing 
industries  had  been  devised. 

But  while  this  great  relief  to  industry  was 
welcomed  the  Opposition  did  not  relax  their 
efforts  for  the  abolition  of  the  corn  laws,  which 
were  continued  into  the  session  of  1843.  Si^ 
Robert  Peel  acknowledged,  amidst  loud  cheers 
from  the  Opposition,  that  all  were  agreed  in  the 
general  rule  that  we  should  purchase  in  the 
cheapest  market  and  sell  in  the  dearest ;  but  he 
added,  "  If  I  propose  a  greater  change  in  the 
corn  laws  than  that  which  I  submit  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  House  I  should  only  aggravate 
the  distress  of  the  country,  and  only  increase  the 
alarm  which  prevails  among  important  interests." 
Mr.  Hume  hailed  with  joy  the  appearance  of  the 
Premier  and  his  colleagues  as  converts  to  the 
principles  of  Free  Trade ;  Mr.  Gladstone  replied, 
that,  whoever  were  the  authors  of  the  principles 
on  which  the  government  measures  rested,  he 
must  protest  against  the  statement  that  the 
ministry  came  forward  as  converts  to  principle^ 
which  they  had  formerly  opposed, 


Enters  the  Cabinet  205 

During  the  progress  of  the  debate  of  1842, 
on  the  revised  Tariff  Bill,  Mr.  Gladstone's  labors 
were  very  great.  He  was  called  upon  to  explain 
or  defend  the  details  of  the  scheme,  and  had 
something  to  say  about  every  article  of  consump- 
tion included  in,  or  excluded  from,  the  list.  He 
spoke  one  hundred  and  twenty- nine  times,  chiefly 
on  themes  connected  with  the  new  fiscal  legisla- 
ture. He  demonstrated  his  capacity  for  grasping 
all  the  most  complicated  details  of  finance,  and 
also  the  power  of  comprehending  the  scope  and 
necessities  of  the  commercial  interests  of  the 
country.  No  measure  with  which  his  name  has 
since  been  connected  has  done  him  more  credit. 
He  spoke  incessantly,  and  amazed  the  House  by 
his  mastery  of  details,  his  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  commercial  needs  of  the  country,  and 
his  inexhaustible  power  of  exposition.  On 
March  14th  Greville  wrote,  "Gladstone  has 
already  displayed  a  capacity  which  makes  his 
admission  into  the  Cabinet  indispensable."  A 
commercial  minister  had  appeared  on  the  scene, 
and  the  shade  of  Hoskisson  had  revived. 

Though  engrossed  in  schemes  of  practical 
legislation,  and  in  all  the  excitements  and 
interests  of  office,  he  could,  as  he  has  ever  done 
during  his  long  career,  turn  aside  for  the  dis- 
course on  social  and  educational  questions  with 
much  earnestness  and  eloquence,  as  if  they,  and 
only  they,  possessed  his  mind.    In  January,  1843, 


2o6  William  E.  Gladstone 

lie  spoke  at  tlie  opening  of  the  Collegiate  Insti- 
tute of  Liverpool,  and  delivered  a  powerful  plea 
for  the  better  education  of  the  middle  classes, 
v/hich  was  one  of  the  most  forcible  speeches 
lie  ever  delivered.     He  said  : 

"  We  believe  that  if  you  could  erect  a  system 
which  should  present  to  mankind  all  branches  of 
knowledge  save  the  one  that  is  essential,  you 
would  only  be  building  up  a  Tower  of  Babel, 
which,  when  you  had  completed  it,  would  be  the 
more  signal  in  its  fall,  and  which  would  bury 
those  who  had  raised  it  in  its  ruins.  We  believe 
that  if  you  can  take  a  human  being  in  his  youth, 
and  if  you  can  make  him  an  accomplished  man 
in  natural  philosophy,  in  mathematics,  or  in  the 
knowledge  necessary  for  the  profession  of  a  mer- 
chant, a  lawyer,  or  a  physician ;  that  if  in  any  or 
all  of  these  endowments  you  could  form  his  mind 
— yes,  if  you  could  endow  him  with  the  science 
and  power  of  a  Newton,  and  so  send  him  forth — 
and  if  you  had  concealed  from  him,  or,  rather, 
had  not  given  him  a  knowledge  and  love  of  the 
Christian  faith — he  would  go  forth  into  the 
world,  able  indeed  with  reference  to  those  purposes 
of  science,  successful  with  the  accumulation  of 
wealth  for  the  multiplication  of  more,  but  *  poor, 
and  miserable,  and  blind,  and  naked  '  with  refer- 
ence to  everything  that  constitutes  the  true  and 
sovereign  purposes  of  our  existence — nay,  worse, 
worse— with  respect  to  the  sovereign  purpose-— 


Enters  the  Cabinet  207 

than  if  lie  liad  still  remained  in  the  ignorance 
which  we  all  commiserate,  and  which  it  is  the 
object  of  this  institution  to  assist  in  removing," 

It  was  admitted  on  all  hands  that  great 
fiscal  reforms  had  been  conceived  and  executed ; 
and  speaking  of  the  session  of  1842,  a  writer,  not 
favorable  to  the  Tories,  wrote :  "  The  nation  sav/ 
and  felt  that  its  business  was  understood  and 
accomDlished,  and  the  House  of  Commons  was 
no  longer  like  a  sleeper  under  a  nightmare. 
The  long  session  was  a  busy  one.  The  Queen 
wore  a  cheerful  air  when  she  thanked  Parliament 
for  their  effectual  labors.  The  Opposition  was 
such  as  could  no  longer  impede  the  operations 
of  the  next  session.  The  condition  of  the 
country  was  fearful  enough,  but  something  was 
done  for  its  future  improvement,  and  the  way  was 
now  shown  to  be  open  for  further  beneficent 
legislation." 

The  corn  law  reformers  renewed  their  efforts, 
led  by  Lord  Ho  wick,  as  soon  as  the  parliamentary 
session  of  1843  opened.  An  inquiry  by  the 
whole  House  was  demanded  into  the  causes  of 
the  long  continued  manufacturing  depression 
referred  to  in  the  Queen's  speech.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone replied  that  while  the  Opposition  proposed 
to  repeal  the  corn  laws,  they  offered  no  measure 
of  relief  in  their  place.  The  corn  laws  were  at 
the  root  of  the  distress  in  the  countr}^,  but  the 
difficulty  was  to  unite  the  ranks  of  the  Oppo- 


2o8  William  E.  Gladstone 

sition  in  opinion  as  to  wliat  ougHt  to  follow  tlie 
repeal  of  the  corn  laws.  The  question  between 
the  government  and  the  Opposition  was  not 
really  so  great  as  the  latter  wished  to  make  out. 
It  was  simply  as  to  the  amount  of  relaxation 
the  country  could  bear  in  the  duties.  It  was 
the  intention  of  the  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury 
to  attain  his  object  "by  increasing  the  employ- 
ment of  the  people,  by  cheapening  the  prices 
of  the  articles  of  consumption,  as  also  the 
articles  of  industry,  by  encouraging  the  means 
of  exchange  with  foreign  nations,  and  thereby 
encouraging  in  return  an  extension  of  the 
export  trade ;  but  besides  all  this,  if  he  under- 
stood the  measure  of  the  government  last  year, 
it  was  proposed  that  the  relaxation  should  be 
practically  so  limited  as  to  cause  no  violent  shock 
to  existing  interests,  such  as  would  have  the 
tendency  of  displacing  that  labor  which  should  be 
employed,  and  which,  if  displaced,  would  be 
unable  to  find  another  field."  The  measure  of 
the  previous  year  had  nothing  but  a  beneficial 
effect,  but  the  repeal  of  the  corn  laws  would  dis- 
place a  vast  mass  of  labor.  Lord  Howick's 
motion  was  defeated  and  so  were  others  offered 
by  Mr.  Villiers  and  Lord  John  Russell,  by  dimin- 
ishing majorities,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  protested 
against  the  constant  renewal  of  uneasiness  in  the 
country  by  successive  motions  of  this  kind  in 
Parliament. 


Enters  the  Cabinet  209 

The  year  1843  was  one  destined  to  witness 
a  great  advance  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  progress 
towards  tHe  front  rank  among  statesmen.  June 
lotli,  Lord  Ripon,  who  was  President  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  left  this  place  for  the  Board 
of  Control,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  was  appointed  to 
the  position,  and  thus  became  a  member  of  the 
Cabinet  at  the  age  of  thirty-three.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone now  became  in  name  what  he  had  been 
already  in  fact — the  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trade.  He  states  that  "  the  very  first  opinion 
which  he  was  ever  called  upon  to  give  in 
Cabinet"  was  an  opinion  in  favor  of  withdrawing 
the  bill  providing  education  for  children  in 
factories;  to  which  vehement  opposition  was 
offered  by  the  Dissenters,  on  the  ground  that  it 
was  too  favorable  to  the  Established  Church.  It 
seemed  that  his  position  was  assured  and  yet  in 
October  he  wrote  to  a  friend :  "  Uneasy,  in  my 
opinion,  must  be  the  position  of  every  member  of 
Parliament  who  thinks  independently  in  these 
times,  or  in  any  that  are  likely  to  succeed 
them ;  and  in  proportion  as  a  man's  course  of 
thought  deviates  from  the  ordinary  lines  his 
seat  must  less  and  less  resemble  a  bed  of 
roses."  Mr.  Gladstone  possibly  felt  when  he 
penned  these  lines  that  the  time  was  at  hand 
when  his  convictions  would  force  him  to  take 
a  position  that  would  array  against  him  some  of 
his  most  ardent  friends. 


210  William  E.  Gladstone 

During  the  session  of  1844  Mr.  Gladstone 
addressed  the  House  on  a  variety  of  subjects, 
including  railways,  the  law  of  partnership,  the 
agricultural  interest,  the  abolition  of  the  corn 
laws,  the  Dissenters'  Chapel  Bill  and  the  sugar 
duties.  One  very  valuable  bill  he  had  carried 
was  a  measure  for  the  abolition  of  restrictions 
on  the  exportation  of  machinery.  Another  was 
the  railway  bill,  to  improve  the  railway  system, 
by  which  the  Board  of  Trade  had  conditional 
power  to  purchase  railways  which  had  not 
adopted  a  revised  scale  of  tolls.  The  bill  also 
compulsorily  provided  for  at  least  one  third-class 
train  per  week-day  upon  every  line  of  railway,  to 
charge  but  one  penny  a  mile,  regulated  the  speed 
of  traveling,  compelled  such  trains  to  stop  at 
every  station,  and  arranged  for  the  carrying  of 
children  under  three  years  of  age  for  nothing 
and  those  under  twelve  at  reduced  fares.  This 
measure,  conceived  so  distinctly  in  the  interests 
of  the  poorer  classes,  met  with  considerable 
opposition  at  first  from  the  various  railway  com- 
panies, but  it  was  ultimately  passed  into  law. 
These  were  measures  passed  in  the  spirit  of 
reform,  though  by  a  Conservative  government. 

There  was  another  matter  legislated  upon 
which  shows  how  Mr.  Gladstone's  mind  was 
undergoing  changes  in  the  direction  of  religious 
toleration.  Lady  Hewley  had  originally  founded 
and  given  to   Calvinistic    Independents    certain 


Enters  the  Cabinet  2u 

charities  which  had  gradually  passed  to  Uni- 
tarians, who  were  ousted  from  their  benefits.  A 
bill  was  proposed  to  vest  property  left  to  Dis- 
senting bodies  in  the  hands  of  that  religious  body 
with  whom  it  had  remained  for  the  preceding 
twenty  years.  The  measure  was  passed,  but 
when  it  was  discussed  in  the  House  of  Commons 
Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  it  was  a  bill  which  it  was 
incumbent  upon  the  House  to  endorse ;  that 
there  was  no  contrariety  between  his  principles  of 
religious  belief  and  those  on  which  legislation  in 
this  case  ought  to  proceed ;  that  there  was  a 
great  question  of  justice,  viz.,  whether  those  who 
were  called  Presbyterian  Dissenters,  and  who 
were  a  century  and  a  half  ago  of  Trinitarian 
opinions,  ought  not  to  be  protected  at  the  present 
moment  in  possession  of  the  chapels  which  they 
held,  with  the  appurtenances  of  those  chapels  ? 
On  the  question  of  substantial  justice  he  pro- 
nounced the  strongest  affirmative  opinion.  "  After 
this  speech  there  were  those  who  thought,  and 
expressed  their  hope  and  belief  in  words,  that  the 
*  champion  of  Free  Trade '  would  ere  long  become 
the  advocate  of  the  most  unrestricted  liberty  in 
matters  of  religion.  Their  hope,  if  sanguine  as 
to  its  immediate  fulfillment,  was  far  from 
groundless." 

However,  in  December  of  the  same  year 
Mr.  Gladstone  wrote  to  his  friend  Archdeacon, 
afterwards  Bishop   Wilberforce,  about  the  pros- 


212  William  E.  Gladstone 

pects  of  the  Church  of  England  :  "  I  rejoice  to 
see  that  your  views  on  the  whole  are  hopeful. 
For  my  part  I  heartily  go  along  with  you.  The 
fabric  consolidates  itself  more  and  more,  even 
while  the  earthquake  rocks  it;  for,  with  a 
thousand  drawbacks  and  deductions,  love  grows 
larger,  zeal  warmer,  truth  firmer  among  us.  It 
makes  the  mind  sad  to  speculate  upon  the 
question  how  much  better  all  might  have  been  ; 
but  our  mourning  should  be  turned  into  joy  and 
thankfulness  when  we  think  also  how  much 
worse  it  was^ 

The  next  event  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Gladstone 
is  marked  by  a  momentous  change  in  his 
political  position.  Scarcely  had  Parliament  met 
in  January,  1845,  when  it  was  announced  to  the 
astonishment  of  everyone  that  Mr.  Gladstone 
had  resigned  his  place  as  President  of  the  Board 
of  Trade  in  the  Cabinet.  He  set  a  good  deal  of 
speculation  at  rest  by  the  announcement  made 
in  his  speech  on  the  address  of  the  Queen,  that 
his  resignation  was  due  solely  to  the  government 
intentions  with  regard  to  Maynooth  College. 
Before,  however,  he  had  resigned,  Mr.  Gladstone 
had  completed  a  second  and  revised  tariff,  carry- 
ing further  the  principles  of  the  revision  of  1842. 

In  the  session  of  1844  Sir  Robert  Peel, 
in  response  to  the  requests  of  Irish  members, 
had  promised  that  the  Government  would 
take  up  the   question   of  academical   education 


Enters  the  Cabinet  213 

in  Ireland,  with  tlie  view  of  bringing  it  more 
nearly  to  the  standard  of  England  and  Scotland, 
increasing  its  amonnt  and  improving  its  quality. 
In  fulfillment  of  this  pledge  the  government,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  session  of  1845,  proposed 
to  establish  non-sectarian  colleges  in  Ireland, 
and  to  increase  the  appropriation  to  Maynooth. 
The  College  of  Maynooth,  which  was  established 
for  the  education  of  Roman  Catholic  priests  and 
laymen,  had  fallen  into  poverty  and  decay.  In 
order  to  gratify  the  Irish,  the  government  offered 
to  increase  the  grant  already  made  from  $45,000 
to  $150,000  a  year.  This  appropriation  was 
not  to  be  subject  to  any  annual  vote,  and 
the  affairs  of  the  College  were  to  be  executed  by 
the  Board  of  Works.  These  proposals  placed 
Mr.  Gladstone  in  a  position  of  great  difiiculty. 
He  must  either  support  Sir  Robert  Peel's  meas- 
ure, or  retire  from  the  Cabinet  into  isolation,  if 
not  subject  to  the  imputation  of  eccentricity.  He 
took  council  with  his  friends,  Archdeacon  Man- 
ning and  Mr.  Hope,  who  advised  him  to  remain, 
and  with  Lord  Stanley  who  warned  him  that  his 
resignation  must  be  followed  by  resistance  of  the 
proposals  of  the  government,  which  would  involve 
him  in  a  storm  of  religious  agitation.  But  Mr. 
Gladstone  persisted  in  his  intention,  in  what 
seemed  like  giving  up  his  brilliant  prospects, 
but  said  it  would  not  necessarily  be  followed  by 
resistance  to  the  proposal  about  Maynooth, 


214  William  E.  Gladstone 

Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  the  proposed  in- 
crease in  the  Maynooth  endowment  and  the 
establishment  of  non-sectarian  colleges  were 
at  variance  with  views  he  had  written  and  uttered 
upon  the  relations  of  the  Church  and  State.  "  I 
am  sensible  how  fallible  my  judgment  is,"  said 
Mr.  Gladstone,  ^'  and  how  easily  I  might  have 
erred;  but  still  it  has  been  my  conviction  that 
although  I  was  not  to  fetter  my  judgment  as  a 
member  of  Parliament  by  a  reference  to  abstract 
theories,  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  it  was  absolutely 
due  to  the  public  and  due  to  myself  that  I  should, 
so  far  as  in  me  lay,  place  myself  in  a  position  to 
form  an  opinion  upon  a  matter  of  so  great  im- 
portance, that  should  not  only  be  actually  free 
from  all  bias  or  leaning  with  respect  to  any 
consideration  whatsoever,  but  an  opinion  that 
should  be  unsuspected.  On  that  account  I  have 
taken  a  course  most  painful  to  myself  in  respect 
to  personal  feelings,  and  have  separated  myself 
from  men  with  whom  and  under  whom  I  have 
long  acted  in  public  life,  and  of  whom  I  am 
bound  to  say,  although  I  have  now  no  longer  the 
honor  of  serving  my  most  gracious  Sovereign, 
that  I  continue  to  regard  them  with  unaltered 
sentiments  both  of  public  regard  and  private 
attachment." 

Then  again  he  said :  ^'  My  whole  purpose 
was  to  place  myself  in  a  position  in  which  I 
should  bQ  free  to  consider  any  course  without 


Enters  the  Cabinet  215 

being  liable  to  any  just  suspicion  on  the  ground 
of  personal  interest.  It  is  not  profane  if  I  now 
say,  '  with  a  great  price  obtained  I  this  freedom.^ 
The  political  association  in  wbich  I  stood  was  to 
me  at  the  time  the  alpha  and  omega  of  public  life. 
The  government  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  was  believed 
to  be  of  immovable  strength.  My  place,  as 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  was  at  the  very 
kernel  of  its  most  interesting  operations  ;  for  it 
was  in  progress  from  year  to  year,  with  contin- 
ually waxing  courage,  towards  the  emancipation 
of  industry,  and  therein  towards  the  accomplish- 
ment of  another  great  and  blessed  work  of 
public  justice.     Giving  up  what  I  highly  prized, 

aware  that 

male  sarta 
Gratia  nequicquam  coit,  et  rescinditur, 

I  felt  myself  open  to  the  charge  of  being  opinion- 
ated and  wanting  in  deference  to  really  great 
authorities,  and  I  could  not  but  know  that  I 
should  inevitably  be  regarded  as  fastidious  and 
fanciful,  fitter  for  a  dreamer,  or  possibly  a  school- 
man, than  for  the  active  purposes  of  public  life 
in  a  busy  and  moving  age.'^ 

There  were  some  of  his  party  angry  and 
others  who  thought  that  there  was  something 
almost  Quixotic  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  honor- 
able resignation,  because  so  soon  as  he  felt 
himself  free  he  gave  his  support  to  the  May- 
nooth    Bill    and    also  to  the  scheme    for    the 


2i6  William  E.  Gladstone 

extension  of  academical  education  in  Ireland, 
which  latter  was  described  by  Sir  R.  Inglis  as  a 
"  gigantic  scheme  of  godless  education."  In 
Greville's  ''  Memoirs  "  we  find  :  "  Gladstone's 
explanation  is  ludicrous.  Everybody  said  that 
he  had  only  succeeded  in  showing  that  his 
resignation  was  unnecessary.  He  was  criticised 
as  the  possessor  of  a  kind  of  supernatural  virtue 
that  could  scarcely  be  popular  with  the  slaves  of 
party,  and  he  was  considered  whimsical,  fantastic, 
impracticable,  a  man  whose  *  conscience,  was  so 
tender  that  he  could  not  go  straight,'  a  visionary 
not  to  be  relied  on — in  fact,  a  character  and 
intellect  useless  to  the  political  manager."  ''  I 
am  greatly  alarmed  at  Gladstone's  resignation. 
I  fear  it  foretells  measures  opposed  to  the  Church 
truth,"  wrote  Wilberforce ;  and  Peel  told  Glad- 
stone beforehand  that  his  reasons  for  his  resigna- 
tion would  be  considered  insufficient.  But  Mr. 
Gladstone's  resignation,  when  understood,  elicited 
the  liveliest  expressions  of  regret  from  friend  and 
foe,  as  well  as  the  most  flattering  testimonies  as 
to  his  ability  and  character.  His  chief.  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  and  Lord  John  Russell,  the  leader 
of  the  Opposition,  were  alike  complimentary  in 
their  remarks. 

Dr.  Russell,  the  biographer  of  Mr.  Gladstone, 
says  :  '^  Mr.  Gladstone's  retirement,  by  impairing 
his  reputation  for  common  sense,  threatened 
serious  and  lasting  injury  to  bis  political  career. 


■^  13  R  A  ff  y,- 
OF  TH£ 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


Enters  the  Cabinet  219 

But  the  whirligig  of  time  brought  its  revenges 
even  more  swiftly  than  usual.  A  conjunction  of 
events  arose  in  which  he  was  destined  to  repair 
the  mischief  which  the  speculative  side  had 
wrought ;  but  for  the  moment  the  speculative 
side  was  uppermost." 

Mr,  Gladstone  was  fast  leaving  his  Toryism 
behind.  To  show  how  far  his  views  had  changed 
in  the  course  of  seven  years,  it  may  be  said  that 
in  his  speech  on  these  measures  he  observed  how 
that  exclusive  support  to  the  Established  Church 
was  a  doctrine  that  was  being  more  and  more 
abandoned.  Mr.  Burke  considered  it  contrary  to 
wise  policy  to  give  e^iclusive  privileges  to  a 
negative  creed  like  that  of  Protestantism.  They 
could  not  prove  their  religious  scruples  for  deny- 
ing this  grant  to  Roman  Catholics,  because  they 
gave  their  votes  of  money  to  almost  every  Dis- 
senting seat.  He  hoped  the  concession  now 
made — which  was  a  great  and  liberal  gift,  because 
unrestricted  and  given  in  a  spirit  of  confidence — 
would  not  lead  to  the  renewal  of  agitation  in 
Ireland  by  Mr.  O'Connell.  It  might  be  well  for 
him  to  reflect  that  agitation  was  a  two-edged 
sword.  Being  conformable  to  justice  and  not 
contrary  to  principle,  he  hoped  the  measure 
proposed  would  pass  into  a  law. 

W.  T.  Stead,  in  a  recent  article,  said,  in 
relation  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  retirement  from  the 
Cabinet,  that  ^^  It  is  ridiculous  to  pretend,  with 


220  William  E.  Gladstonf 

Mr.  Gladstone's  career  before  us,  that  his  course 
has  been  swayed  by  calculating  self-interest. 
He  has  been  the  very  madman  of  politics  from 
the  point  of  view  of  Mr.  Worldly  Wiseman. 
^  No  man/  said  he,  the  other  day,  *  has  ever  com- 
mitted suicide  so  often  as  I,'  and  that  witness  is 
true.  The  first  and  perhaps  the  most  typical  of 
all  his  many  suicides  was  his  resignation  of  his 
seat  in  Sir  Robert  Peel's  Cabinet,  not  because  he 
disapproved  of  the  Maynooth  Grant,  but  because, 
as  he  had  at  one  time  written  against  it,  he  was 
determined  that  his  advocacy  of  it  should  be 
purged  of  the  last  taint  of  self-interest.  As  Mr. 
George  Russell  rightly  remarks,  ^  This  was  an 
act  of  Parliamentary  Quixotism  too  eccentric  to 
be  intelligible.  It  argued  a  fastidious  sensitive- 
ness of  conscience,  and  a  nice  sense  of  political 
propriety  so  opposed  to  the  sordid  selfishness  and 
unblushing  tergiversation  of  the  ordinary  place- 
hunter  as  to  be  almost  offensive.'  But  as  Mr, 
Gladstone  was  then,  so  he  has  been  all  his  life — 
the  very  Quixote  of  conscience.  Judged  by 
every  standard  of  human  probability,  he  has 
ruined  himself  over  and  over  and  over  again. 
He  is  always  ruining  himself,  and  always  rising, 
like  the  Phoenix,  in  renewed  youth  from  the  ashes 
of  his  funeral  pyre.  As  was  said  in  homely 
phrase  som  e  years  ago,  he  '  always  keeps  bobbing 
up  again.'     What  is  the  secret  of  this  wouderful 


Enters  the  Cabinet  221 

capacity  of  revival?  How  is  it  that  Mr.  Glad- 
stone seems  to  find  even  his  blunders  help  him, 
and  the  affirmation  of  principles  that  seem  to  be 
destructive  to  all  chance  of  the  success  of  his 
policy  absolutely  helps  him  to  its  realization  ? 

''  Prom  a  merely  human  standpoint  it  is 
inexplicable.     But 

*  If  right  or  wrong  in  this  God's  world  of  ours 
Be  leagued  with  higher  powers, ' 

then  the  mystery  is  not  so  insolvable.  He  be- 
lieved in  the  higher  powers.  He  never  shrank 
from  putting  his  faith  to  the  test ;  and  on  the 
whole,  who  can  deny  that  for  his  country  and  for 
himself  he  has  reason  to  rejoice  in  the  verification 
of  his  working  hypothesis  ? 

"  ^  We  walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight,'  he 
said  once ;  ^  and  by  no  one  so  much  as  by  those 
who  are  in  politics  is  this  necessary.'  It  is  the 
evidence  of  things  not  seen,  the  eternal  principles, 
the  great  invisible  moral  sanctions  that  men  are 
wont  to  call  the  laws  of  God,  which  alone  supply 
a  safe  guide  through  this  mortal  wilderness. 

VMen  of  a  thousand  shifts  and  wiles,  look  here  ! 

See  one  straightforward  conscience  put  in  pawn 
To  win  a  world  ;  see  the  obedient  sphere 

By  bravery's  simple  gravitation  drawn  ! 
Shall  we  not  heed  the  lesson  taught  of  old, 

And  by  the  Present's  lips  repeated  still? 
In  our  own  single  manhood  to  be  bold, 

Fortressed  in  conscience  and  impregnable.* 


222  William  E.  Gladstone 

''  Mr.  Gladstone  has  never  hesitated  to 
counter  at  sharp  right  angles  the  passion  and 
the  fury  of  the  day.  Those  who  represent  him 
as  ever  strong  upon  the  strong  side,  wilfully  shut 
their  eyes  to  half  his  history.  He  challenged  , 
Lord  Palmerston  over  the  Don  Pacifico  question, 
and  was  believed  to  have  wrecked  himself  almost 
as  completely  as  when  in  1876  he  countered  even 
more  resolutely  the  fantastic  Jingoism  of  Lord 
Beaconsfield.  It  is  easy  for  those  who  come  after 
and  enter  into  the  spoils  gained  by  sacrifices  of 
which  they  themselves  were  incapable  to  describe 
the  Bulgarian  agitation  as  an  astute  party 
move.  The  party  did  not  think  so.  Its  leaders 
did  not  think  so.  Some  of  those  who  now  halloo 
loud  enough  behind  Mr.  Gladstone  were  then 
bitter  enough  in  their  complaint  that  he  had 
wrecked  his  party.  One  at  least,  who  was  con- 
strained to  say  the  other  thing  in  public,  made 
up  for  it  by  bitter  and  contemptuous  cavilings  in 
private.  Now  it  is  easy  to  see  that  Lord  Beacons- 
field  was  mistaken  and  that  Mr.  Gladstone  held 
the  winning  card  all  along.  But  no  one  knew  it 
at  the  time  when  the  card  had  to  be  played, 
certainly  not  Mr.  Gladstone  himself.  He  simply 
saw  his  duty  a  dead  sure  thing,  and,  like 
Jim  Bludsoe  on  the  burning  boat,  '  He  went  for  it 
there  and  then.'  It  turned  up  trumps,  but  no 
one  kn^w  how  heavy  were  the  odds  against   it 


Enters  the  Cabinet  223 

save  those  wlio  went  tlirougli  tlie  stress  and  the 
strain  of  that  testing  and  trjang  time  by  his  side." 

In  the  summer  of  1845  ^^-  Gladstone  pro- 
posed to  his  intimate  friend,  Mr.  J.  R.  Hope,  that 
they  should  spend  the  month  of  September  in 
a  working  tour  in  Ireland,  giving  evidence  of  his 
characteristic  desire  always  to  come  in  personal 
contact  with  any  question  that  he  had  to  discuss. 
He  suggests  ^'  their  eschewing  all  grandeur,  and 
taking  little  account  even  of  scenery,  compared 
with  the  purpose  of  looking,  from  close  quarters, 
at  the  institutions  for  religion  and  education  of 
the  country,  and  at  the  character  of  the  people. 
It  seems  ridiculous  to  talk  of  supplying  the 
defects  of  second-hand  information  by  so  short  a 
trip ;  but  although  a  longer  time  would  be  much 
better,  yet  even  a  very  contracted  one  does  much 
when  it  is  added  to  an  habitual,  though  indirect, 
knowledge."  The  projected  trip,  however,  had  to 
be  abandoned. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year  1845  -'^^• 
Gladstone  issued  a  pamphlet  entitled  '^  Remarks 
upon  recent  Commercial  Legislation,"  in  which  he 
not  only  discussed  the  salutary  effects  of  the  late 
commercial  policy,  but  used  arguments  clearly 
showing  that  he  was  advancing  to  the  position 
of  a  free-trader.  His  general  conclusion  was 
that  English  statesmen  should  use  every  efifort 
to  disburden  of  all  charges,  so  far  as  the  law  was 
concerned,  the  materials  of  industry,  and  thus 


224  William  E.  Gladstone 

enable  tlie  workman  to  approacH  his  work  at 
home  on  better  terms,  as  the  terms  in  which  he 
entered  foreign  markets  were  altered  for  the 
worse  against  him. 

While  Mr.  Gladstone  was  so  willing  to  deal 
generously  more  than  ever  before  with  the  Irish 
Roman  Catholics,  his  confidence  in  the  Estab- 
lished Episcopal  Church  of  Ireland  was  growing 
less.  '^  I  am  sorry,"  he  wrote  to  Bishop  Wilber- 
force,  ''  to  express  my  apprehension  that  the 
Irish  Church  is  not  in  a  large  sense  efi&cient ; 
the  working  results  of  the  last  ten  years  have 
disappointed  me.  I  may  be  answered.  Have 
faith  in  the  ordinance  of  God  ;  but  then  I  must 
see  the  seal  and  signature,  and  these,  how  can  I 
separate  from  ecclesiastical  descent  ?  The  title, 
in  short,  is  questioned,  and  vehemently,  not 
only  by  the  Radicalism  of  the  day,  but  by  the 
Roman  Bishops,  who  claim  to  hold  succession 
of  St.  Patrick,  and  this  claim  has  been  alive  all 
along  from  the  Reformation,  so  that  lapse  of 
years  does  nothing  against  it." 

The  name  of  Dr.  Dollinger,  the  distinguished 
reformed  Roman  Catholic,  has  been  mentioned 
already  in  connection  with  that  of  Mr.  Gladstone. 
In  the  fall  of  1845  ^^-  Gladstone  went  to  Munich 
and  paid  his  first  visit  to  Dr.  Dollinger.  For  a 
week  he  remained  in  daily  intercourse  with  this 
eminent  divine,  and  the  foundation  was  laid  of  a 
friendship  which  v/as  sustained  by  repeated  visits 


Enters  the  Cabinet 


225 


and  correspondence,  and  which  lasted  nntil  the 
doctor's  death  in  1890. 

In  the  winter  of  1845  ^^-  Gladstone  met 
with  a  painful  accident  that  resulted  in  a  perma- 
nent injury  to  his  hand.  He  was  by  no  means 
what  is  termed  a  sportsman,  yet  he  was  somewhat 
fond  of  shooting.  His  gun  was  prematurely  dis- 
charged while  he  was  loading  it,  and  shattered 
the  first  finger  of  his  left  hand,  so  that  amputa- 
tion was  necessary. 


Loyal  Ulster 


CHAPTER  VII 
Member  for  Oxford 


//  A   jf  R.  GLADSTONE'S  career,"  says  his 
JVL         ^iog^apher,    G.    W.    E.    Russell, 
^^  \  ^^      *'  naturally  divides  itself  into  tliree 
parts.      The   first   of   them   ends 
with  his  retirement  from  the  rep- 
resentation of  Newark.     The  central  part  ranges 
from  1847  t^  1868.     Happily  the   third  is  still 
incomplete."      The   first   division,  according    to 
Dr.  Russell,  of  this   remarkable   life,  we   have 
considered,  and  we  now  pass  on  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  second  period.     The  causes  which 
led  up  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  retirement  from   the 
representation  for  Newark  to  that  of  Oxford  we 
will  now  proceed  to  trace. 

The  agitation  by  the  ablest  orators  against 
the  corn  laws  had  been  going  on  for  ten  years, 
when  an  announcement  was  made  in  the  "  Times  " 
of  December  4,  1845,  ^^^  Parliament  would  be 
convened  the  first  week  in  January,  and  that  the 
Queen's  address  would  recommend  the  immediate 
consideration  of  the  corn  laws,  preparatory  to 
22$ 


Member  for  Oxford  227 

their  total  abolition.  This  startling  news  took 
the  other  daily  papers  by  surprise,  for  there  had 
been  recently  a  lull  in  the  agitation,  and  several 
of  them  contradicted  it  positively.  Yet  the  news 
papers  had  noticed  the  unusual  occurrence  of  foui 
cabinet  meetings  in  one  week.  The  original 
statement  was  confirmed.  The  ministry  was 
pledged  to  support  the  measure.  The  hour  had 
come,  the  doom  of  the  corn  laws  was  sealed. 
Mr.  Gladstone's  thoughts  and  labors  for  some 
years  past  had  been  leading  him  away  from 
Protection,  in  which  he  had  been  brought  up,  in 
the  direction  of  Free  Trade ;  and  although  he 
was  unable  to  participate  in  the  last  part  of  the 
struggle  in  Parliament,  because  he  was  not  a 
member  of  the  House,  he  was  yet  in  harmony 
with  Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  indeed  is  said  to  have 
converted  the  Premier  to  Free  Trade  views. 
Such  a  change  of  views  was  not  the  sudden 
impulse  of  an  hour.  The  next  step  was  to 
announce  his  changed  convictions.  And  so  upon 
other  occasions  in  his  life,  his  attitude  on  the 
question  of  the  corn  laws  led  to  his  separation 
from  some  old  and  greatly  cherished  political 
and  personal  friends,  and  among  the  first  to 
disapprove  of  his  new  departure  must  have  been 
his  own  father,  who  would  think  his  son  was 
going  to  ruin  the  country. 

The  Duke  of  Buccleuch  and  Lord  Stanley 
informed  Sir  Robert  Pee!  that   they   could   no^ 


228  William  E.  Gladstone 

support  a  measure  for  the  repeal  of  the  com 
laws,  and  Sir  Robert  Peel,  being  doubtful  whether 
he  could  carry  through  the  proposed  measure 
in  the  face  of  such  opposition,  tendered  his 
resignation  as  premier  to  the  Queen.  Lord  John 
Russell  was  called  upon  to  form  a  new  ministry, 
but,  having  failed  in  this,  the  Queen  desired 
Sir  Robert  Peel  to  withdraw  his  resignation,  and 
resume  the  head  of  the  government  again. 

It  was  found  when  the  list  of  the  new  Peel 
Cabinet  was  published,  that  Mr.  Gladstone  was 
a  member  of  it,  having  accepted  the  office  of 
Colonial  Secretary,  in  the  place  of  Lord  Stanley, 
who  had  resigned  because  not  in  sympathy  with 
the  proposed  movement  and  of  repeal.  Accept- 
ing office  in  a  ministry  pledged  to  repeal  the 
corn  laws  led  to  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Gladstone 
from  the  House  of  Commons  as  the  representa- 
tive for  Newark.  The  Duke  of  New  Castle,  the 
patron  and  friend  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  was  an 
ardent  Protectionist,  and  could  not  sanction  the 
candidature  of  a  supporter  of  Free  Trade  princi- 
ples. His  patronage  was  therefore  necessarily 
withdrawn  from  Mr.  Gladstone.  Indeed,  the 
Duke  had  turned  his  own  son,  Lord  Lincoln,  out 
of  the  representation  of  Nottinghamshire  for 
accepting  office  under  Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  he 
naturally  showed  no  mercy  to  the  brilliant  but 
wayward  politician,  whom  his  favor  had  made 
member  for  Newark.     Besides,  Mr,  Gladstone  felt 


Member  for  oxford  229 

he  lield  opposite  principles  from  those  he  held 
when  elected,  and  that  unless  the  constituency- 
had  changed  with  him,  he  could  no  longer 
honorably  continue  to  represent  them,  even  if  the 
influence  and  friendship  of  the  Duke  permitted  it. 
Accordingly  he  did  not  offer  himself  for 
re-election,  but  retired  and  issued  an  address  to 
the  electors  of  Newark,  dated  January  5,  1846, 
of  which  the  following  is  an  extract :  "By 
accepting  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State  for  the 
Colonies,  I  have  ceased  to  be  your  representative 
in  Parliament.  On  several  accounts  I  should 
have  been  peculiarly  desirous  at  the  present  time 
of  giving  you  an  opportunity  to  pronounce  your 
constitutional  judgment  on  my  public  conduct, 
by  soliciting  at  your  hands  a  renewal  of  the 
trust  which  I  have  already  received  from  you  on 
five  successive  occasions,  and  held  during  a  period 
of  thirteen  years.  But  as  I  have  good  reason  to 
believe  that  a  candidate  recommended  to  your 
favor  through  local  connections  may  ask  your 
suffrages,  it  becomes  my  very  painful  duty  to 
announce  to  you  on  that  ground  alone  my  retire- 
ment from  a.  position  which  has  afforded  me  so 
much  of  honor  and  of  satisfaction."  Mr.  Glad- 
stone further  goes  on  to  explain  that  he  accepted 
office  because  he  held  that  "  it  was  for  those  who 
believed  the  Government  was  acting  according  to 
the  demands  of  public  duty  to  testify  that 
beliefj  however  limited  their  sphere  might  be,  by 


230  William  e.  Gladstone 

their  co-operation."  He  had  acted  '^  in  obedience 
to  the  clear  and  imperious  call  of  public 
obligation." 

It  was  in  this  way  that  Mr.  Gladstone 
became  a  voluntary  exile  from  the  House  of 
Commons  during  this  important  season,  and  took 
no  part  in  the  debates,  his  personal  powerful 
advocacy  being  lost  in  the  consideration  of  the 
great  measure  before  the  House.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Cabinet,  but  not  of  the  House  of 
Commons.  It  was  no  secret,  however,  that  he  was 
the  most  advanced  Free  Trader  in  the  Peel 
Cabinet,  and  that  the  policy  of  the  government 
in  regard  to  this  great  measure  of  1846  was  to 
a  large  extent  moulded  by  him. 

It  is  also  known  that  his  representations  of 
the  effects  of  Free  Trade  on  the  industry  of  the 
country  and  the  general  well-being  of  the  people 
strengthened  the  Premier  in  his  resolve  to  sweep 
away  the  obnoxious  corn  laws.  His  pamphlet 
on  recent  commercial  legislation  had  prepared 
the  way  for  the  later  momentous  changes  ;  and 
to  Mr.  Gladstone  is  due  much  of  the  credit  for 
the  speedy  consummation  of  the  Free  Trade 
policy  of  the  Peel  Ministry.  Mr.  Gladstone  may 
be  regarded  as  the  pioneer  of  the  movement. 

Just  at  this  time  a  calamity  occurred  in 
Ireland  which  furnished  Sir  Robert  Peel  an 
additional  argument  for  the  prompt  repeal  of  the 
corn  laws  ;    namely,  a  prospective  famine,  owing 


Member  for  Oxford  231 

to  the  failure  of  the  potato  crop.  With  threatened 
famine  in  Ireland,  such  as  had  never  been 
experienced,  the  Prime  Minister  saw  clearly  that 
corn  must  be  admitted  into  the  country  free  of 
duty.  The  Anti-Corn  Law  League  was  growing 
powerful  and  even  irresistible,  while  both  in 
England  and  Ireland  many  landlords  of  influence, 
who  did  not  belong  to  the  League,  were  in 
sympathy  with  the  movement  started  by  the 
Premier  and  ready  to  extend  to  him  a  hearty 
support. 

But  the  friends  of  Protection  did  not  leave 
the  Premier  without  opposition.  Knowing  that 
Sir  Robert  Peel's  personal  influence  was  greater 
than  that  of  any  minister  who  had  "  virtually 
governed  the  empire,"  they  used  every  means  at 
their  command,  fair  and  unfair,  to  defeat  the  bill. 
However,  their  efforts  were  destined  to  failure. 
Some  contended  that  the  presentation  and 
passage  of  the  corn  law  repeal  bill  ought  to  be 
left  to  the  Liberals.  But  Free  Trade  had  not 
received  the  support  of  every  member  of  the 
Liberal  party,  and  Sir  Robert  Peel  was  in  a 
position  to  carry  out  the  measure,  and  it  was  not 
in  accordance  with  the  wisdom  of  practical 
politics  to  halt.  Indeed,  at  this  very  juncture, 
Mr.  Cobden  wrote  to  the  Premier  that  he  had 
the  power,  and  that  it  would  be  disastrous  to  the 
country  for  him  to  hesitate.  Writing  from 
Edinburgh,  Lord  John    Russell  announced  his 


232  William  E.  Gladstone 

conversion  to  total  and  immediate  repeal  of  tlie 
corn  laws.  Sir  Robert  Peel  hesitated  no  longer, 
but,  feeling  that  the  crisis  had  arrived,  determined 
to  grapple  with  it.  It  was  duty  to  country 
before  and  above  fancied  loyalty  to  party  to  be 
considered.  It  is  strange  what  remedies  some 
men  deem  sensible,  suggested  to  prevent  famine 
in  Ireland. 

'^  Obviously  the  Government  was  in  difficul- 
ties. What  those  difficulties  were  it  was  not 
hard  to  guess.  In  the  previous  autumn  it  had 
become  known  that,  after  a  long  season  of  sunless 
wet,  the  potatoes  had  everywhere  been  attacked 
by  an  obscure  disease.  The  failure  of  this  crop 
meant  an  Irish  famine.  The  steps  suggested  to 
meet  this  impending  calamity  were  strange 
enough.  The  head  of  the  English  peerage 
recommended  the  poor  to  rely  on  curry-powder 
as  a  nutritious  and  satisfying  food.  Another 
duke  thought  that  the  government  could  show 
no  favor  to  a  population  almost  in  a  state  of 
rebellion,  but  that  individuals  might  get  up  a 
subscription.  A  noble  lord,  harmonizing  mater- 
ialism and  faith,  urged  the  government  to 
encourage  the  provision  of  salt  fish,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  appoint  a  day  of  public  acknowledg- 
ment of  our  dependence  on  Divine  goodness. 
The  council  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society, 
numbering  some  of  the  wealthiest  noblemen  and 
squires  in  England,  were  not  ashamed  to  lecture 


Member  for  Oxford  233 

the  laborers  on  the  sustaining  properties  of  thrice- 
boiled  bones." 

When  Parliament  assembled  the  Premier 
entered  into  an  explanation  of  the  late  ministerial 
crisis,  and  unfolded  his  projected  plans.  He  said 
that  the  failure  of  the  potato  crop  had  led  to  the 
dissolution  of  the  late  government,  that  matters 
now  could  brook  no  further  delay ;  that  prompt 
action  must  now  be  taken  on  the  Corn  Laws ; 
that  the  progress  of  reason  and  truth  demanded 
it ;  that  his  opinions  on  the  subject  of  Protection 
had  undergone  a  great  change  ;  that  the  experi- 
ence of  the  past  three  years  confirmed  him  in  his 
new  views ;  that  he  could  not  conceal  the  knowl- 
edge of  his  convictions,  however  much  it  might 
lay  him  open  to  the  charge  of  inconsistency ; 
that,  though  accused  of  apathy  and  neglect,  he 
and  his  colleagues  were  even  then  engaged  in 
the  most  extensive  and  arduous  inquiries  into 
the  true  state  of  Ireland;  and  that,  as  these 
inquiries  progressed,  he  has  been  forced  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  protection  policy  was  unsound 
and  consequently  untenable. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Mr.  Disraeli,  the 
future  Parliamentary  rival  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  took 
part,  as  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons,  in 
the  discussion  of  the  question  under  consideration. 
The  following  words  show  his  attitude  :  "To  the 
opinions  which  I  have  expressed  in  this  House 
in  favor  of  Protection  I  adhere.     They  sent  me 


234  William  E.  Gladstone 

to  this  House,  and  if  I  Had  relinquished  them  I 
should  have  relinquished  my  seat  also."  "  It 
would  be  an  unprofitable  talk/'  writes  Barnett 
Smith,  "  to  unravel  the  many  inconsistencies  of 
Lord  Beaconsfield's  career ;  but  with  regard  to  this 
deliverance  upon  Protection,  the  curious  in  such 
matters  may  turn  back  to  the  records  of  1842, 
when  they  will  discover  that  at  that  time  he  was 
quite  prepared  to  advocate  measures  of  a  Free 
Trade  character.  But  we  must  pass  on  from  this 
important  question  of  the  Corn  Laws,  with  the 
angry  controversy  to  which  it  gave  rise.  Sir 
Robert  Peel  brought  forward  his  measure,  and 
after  lengthened  debate  in  both  Houses,  it  became 
law,  and  grain  was  admitted  into  English  ports 
under  the  new  tariff. '^ 

After  all  their  success  in  carrying  through 
the  important  Corn  Law  Repeal  scheme,  the 
ministry  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  was  doomed  to  fall 
upon  an  Irish  question.  The  very  day  that 
brought  their  victory  in  the  passage  of  the  Corn 
Law  Repeal  Act  in  the  House  of  Lords  saw  the 
defeat  of  the  ministry  in  the  House  of  Commons 
on  their  bill  for  the  suppression  of  outrage  in 
Ireland.  Sir  Robert  Peel  found  himself  in  a 
minority  of  73  and  therefore  tendered  his  resigna- 
tion. It  was  accepted  and  Sir  Robert  Peel  went 
out  of  office  forever.  Lord  John  Russell  was  sent 
for  by  the  Queen,  and  he  succeeded  in  forming 
1  Whig  Ministry. 


Gladstone's  Early  English  Contemporaries. 


or  THE 

i;    UNIVERSITY 


Member  for  Oxford  237 

Mr.  Gladstone's  return  to  the  Cabinet  of  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  as  we  have  seen,  cost  him  his  seat  in 
the  House  of  Commons.  It  was  not  until  the 
brief  session  of  1847,  ^^^^  ^^  appeared  again  in 
Parliament.  The  Queen  dissolved  Parliament 
in  person,  July,  23d.  The  election  succeeding 
turned  in  many  instances  upon  ecclesiastical  ques- 
tions, and  especially  upon  the  Maynooth  grant. 

It  was  announced  early  in  1847  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^ 
the  two  members  of  the  House  of  Commons  for 
the  University  of  Oxford  intended  to  retire  at  the 
next  general  election.  Mr.  Canning  had  pro- 
nounced the  representation  of  the  university  as 
the  most  coveted  prize  of  public  life,  and  Mr. 
Gladstone  himself  confessed  that  he  "  desired  it 
with  an  almost  passionate  fondness."  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, as  a  graduate  of  Oxford,  was  looked  upon 
not  only  by  his  contemporaries,  but  by  his 
seniors  and  those  who  came  after  him,  with 
feelings  of  enthusiastic  admiration.  The  feeling 
then  was  reciprocal,  and  he  was  proposed  for  the 
vacant  seat.  Sir  R.  N.  Inglis  was  secure  in  his 
seat,  and  so  the  contest  lay  between  Mr.  Glad- 
stone and  Mr.  Round,  who  was  of  the  ultra- 
Protestant  and  Tory  school.  The  contest  excited 
the  keenest  interest  and  was  expected  on  all 
hands  to  be  very  close. 

Mr.  Gladstone  in  his  address  to  th«  electors 
of  his  Alma  Mater  confessed  that  in  the  earlier 
part  of  bis  public  life  be  bad  been  an  advocate 


238  William  E.  Gladstone 

for  the  exclusive  support  of  the  national  religion 
of  the  state,  but  it  had  been  in  vain  ;  the  time  was 
against  him.  He  said :  "I  found  that  scarcely 
a  year  passed  without  the  adoption  of  some  fresh 
measure  involving  the  national  recognition  and 
the  national  support  of  various  forms  of  religion, 
and,  in  particular,  that  a  recent  and  fresh  pro- 
vision had  been  made  for  the  propagation  from  a 
public  chair  of  Arian  or  Socinian  doctrines.  The 
question  remaining  for  me  was  whether,  aware 
of  the  opposition  of  the  English  people,  I  should 
set  down  as  equal  to  nothing,  in  a  matter  pri- 
marily connected  not  with  our  own  but  with  their 
priesthood,  the  wishes  of  the  people  of  Ireland  ; 
and  whether  I  should  avail  myself  of  the  popular 
feeling  in  regard  to  the  Roman  Catholics  for  the 
purpose  of  enforcing  against  them  a  system 
which  we  had  ceased  by  common  consent  to 
enforce  against  Arians — a  system,  above  all,  of 
which  I  must  say  that  it  never  can  be  conform- 
able to  policy,  to  justice  or  even  to  decency,  when 
it  has  become  avowedly  partial  and  one-sided  in 
its  application.^* 

This  address  intensified  the  determination 
of  those  opposed  to  Mr.  Gladstone  to  defeat  him. 
A  great  portion  of  the  press  was,  however,  in  his 
favor.  Some  of  the  journals  that  were  enthusi- 
astic for  Mr.  Gladstone  were  very  bitter  against 
Mr.  Round.  Mr.  Gladstone's  distinguished  talent 
and  industry  were  lauded,  as  well  as  his  earnest 


Member  for  Oxford  239 

attachment  to  the  Church  of  England.  He  had, 
however,  renounced  the  exclusiveness  of  his 
politico-ecclesiastical  principles,  and  no  longer 
importuned  Parliament  to  ignore  all  forms  of 
religion  but  those  established  by  law,  or  which 
were  exactly  coincident  with  his  own  belief. 
^'  His  election,"  declared  one  journal,  "  unlike 
that  of  Mr.  Round,  while  it  sends  an  important 
member  to  the  House  of  Commons,  will  certainly 
be  creditable,  and  may  be  valuable  to  the 
university  ;  and  we  heartily  hope  that  no  negli- 
gence or  hesitation  among  his  supporters  maj 
impede  his  success."  Even  outside  of  church 
circles  the  election  was  regarded  with  great 
interest. 

The  nomination  took  place  July  29th.  After 
the  usual  ceremony,  the  voting  commenced  in 
convocation-house,  which  was  densely  crowded. 
So  great  was  the  pressure  of  the  throng  that  men 
fainted  and  had  to  be  carried  out.  Mr.  Coleridge, 
afterward  Lord  Coleridge,  was  the  secretary  of 
Mr.  Gladstone's  committee.  Distinguished  men, 
among  them  Sir  Robert  Peel,  his  colleague  in  the 
Cabinet,  came  from  a  great  distance  to  ''  plump  " 
for  Mr.  Gladstone.  The  venerable  Dr.  Routh, 
then  nearly  ninety-two  years  old,  came  forth 
from  his  retirement  at  Magdalen  College  to  vote 
for  him.  Mrs.  Gladstone,  according  to  Mr.  Hope- 
Scott,  was  an  indefatigable  canvasser  for  her 
husband.     At  the  close  of  the  poll  the  vote  stood ; 


240  William  E.  Gladstone 

Inglis,  1700;  Gladstone,  997;  Round,  824.  Of 
course  Sir  Robert  Inglis,  with  His  "  prehistoric 
Toryism,"  stood  at  the  head.  To  the  supporters 
of  Mr,  Gladstone  and  Mr.  Round  must  be  added 
154  who  were  paired.  Mr.  Gladstone  received  a 
majority  of  173  over  his  ultra-Protestant  oppo- 
nent. The  total  number  of  those  polled  exceeded 
that  registered  at  any  previous  election,  showing 
the  intense  and  general  interest  in  the  result. 

This  period  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  life  has  been 
very  properly  styled  by  one  of  his  biographers, 
as  the  transition  period.  "  On  one  side  the  Con- 
servative Free-trader  clings  fondly  and  tenaciously 
to  the  Toryism  of  his  youth,  on  another,  he  is 
reaching  out  toward  new  realms  of  Liberal 
thought  and  action.  He  opposes  marriage  with 
a  deceased  wife's  sister  on  theological  and  social 
grounds,  asserting  roundly  that  such  marriage 
is  ^  contrary  to  the  law  of  God,  declared  for  three 
thousand  years  and  upwards.'  He  deprecates  the 
appointment  of  a  Commission  to  enquire  into 
the  Universities,  because  it  will  deter  intending 
benefactors  from  effecting  their  munificent  inten- 
tions. He  argues  for  a  second  chamber  in 
Australian  legislatures,  citing,  perhaps  a  little 
unfortunately,  the  constitutional  example  of 
contemporary  France.  In  all  these  utterances  it 
is  not  hard  to  read  the  influence  of  the  traditions 
in  which  he  was  reared,  or  of  the  ecclesiastical 
community  which  he  represents  in  Parliament, 


Member  for  Oxford  241 

"  Yet  even  in  tlie  theological  domain  a 
tendency  towards  Liberalism  shows  itself.  His 
hatred  of  Erastianism  is  evinced  by  his  gallant 
but  unsuccessful  attempt  to  secure  for  the  clergy 
and  laity  of  each  colonial  diocese  the  power  of 
self-government.  Amid  the  indignant  protests  of 
his  Tory  allies,  and  in  opposition  to  his  own 
previous  speech  and  vote,  he  vindicates  the  policy 
of  admitting  the  Jews  to  Parliament.  He  defends 
the  establishment  of  diplomatic  relations  with 
the  Court  of  Rome ;  he  supports  the  alteration  of 
the  parliamentary  oath ;  and,  though  he  will  not 
abet  an  abstract  attack  on  Church  Rates,  he 
contends  that  their  maintainance  involves  a  cor- 
responding duty  to  provide  accommodation  in  the 
church  for  the  very  poorest  of  the  congregation. 

^'  On  the  commercial  side  his  Liberalism  is 
rampant.  With  even  fanatical  faith  he  clings  to 
Free  Trade  as  the  best  guarantee  for  our  national 
stability  amid  the  crash  of  the  dynasties  and 
constitutions  which  went  down  in  '48.  He  thun- 
ders against  the  insidious  dangers  of  reciprocity. 
He  desires,  by  reforming  the  laws  which  govern 
navigation,  to  make  the  ocean,  '  that  great  high- 
way of  nations,  as  free  to  the  ships  that  traverse 
its  bosom  as  to  the  winds  that  sweep  it.' 

"  And  so  the  three  years — 1847, 1848, 1849 — 
rolled  by,  full  of  stirring  events  in  Europe  and 
in  England,  in  Church  and  in  State,  but 
marked  by  no  special  incidents  in  the  life  of  Mr. 


242  William  E.  Gladstone 

Gladstone.  For  him  these  years  were  a  period 
of  mental  growth,  of  transition,  of  development. 
A  change  was  silently  proceeding,  which  was  not 
completed  for  twenty  years,  if,  indeed,  it  has  been 
completed  yet.  '  There  have  been,'  he  wrote  in 
later  days  to  Bishop  Wilberforce,  *  two  great  deaths, 
or  transmigrations  of  spirit,  in  my  political 
existence — one,  very  slow,  the  breaking  of  ties 
with  my  original  party.'  This  was  now  in  pro- 
gress.    The  other  will  be  narrated  in  due  course." 

One  of  the  features  of  the  general  election 
of  1847  ^^^^  excited  the  wildest  popular  comment 
was  the  election  of  Baron  Rothschild  for  the  City 
of  London.  There  was  nothing  illegal  in  the 
election  of  a  Jew,  but  he  was  virtually  precluded 
from  taking  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
because  the  law  required  every  member  to  sub- 
scribe not  only  to  the  Christian  religion,  but  to 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  faith.  To  obviate  this 
difficulty.  Lord  John  Russell,  soon  after  Parlia- 
ment assembled,  offered  a  resolution  affirming  the 
eligibility  of  Jews  to  all  functions  and  offices  to 
which  Roman  Catholics  were  admissible  by  law. 
Sir  R.  H.  Inglis  opposed  the  resolution  and  Mr. 
Gladstone,  his  colleague,  supported  it. 

Mr.  Gladstone  inquired  whether  there  were 
any  grounds  for  the  disqualification  of  the  Jews 
which  distinguished  them  from  any  other  classes 
in  the  community.  They  contended  for  a  "  Chris- 
tian Parliament,  but  the  present  measure  did  not 


Member  for  Oxford  243 

make  severance  between  politics  and  religion,  it 
only  amounted  to  a  declaration  that  there  was  no 
necessity  for  excluding  a  Jew,  as  such,  from  an 
assembly  in  which  every  man  felt  sure  that  a  vast 
and  overwhelming  majority  of  its  members  would 
always  be  Christian.  It  was  said  that  by  admit- 
ting a  few  Jews  they  would  un-Christianize 
Parliament ;  that  was  true  in  word,  but  not  in 
substance."  He  had  no  doubt  that  the  majority 
of  the  members  who  composed  it  would  always 
perform  their  obligations  on  the  true  faith  of 
a  Christian.  It  was  too  late  to  say  that  the 
measure  was  un-Christian,  and  that  it  would  call 
down  the  vengeance  of  heaven.  When  he  opposed 
the  last  law  of  the  removal  of  Jewish  disabilities, 
he  foresaw  that  if  he  gave  the  Jew  municipal, 
magisterial  and  executive  functions,  we  could  not 
refuse  him  legislative  functions  any  longer. 
"  The  Jew  was  refused  entrance  into  the  House 
because  he  would  then  be  a  maker  of  the  law ;  but 
who  made  the  maker  of  the  law  ?  The  consti- 
tuencies ;  and  into  these  constituencies  had  been 
admitted  the  Jews.  Now  were  the  constituencies 
Christian  constituencies  ?  If  they  were,  was  it 
probable  that  the  Parliament  would  cease  to  be  a 
Christian  Parliament  ?  " 

Mr.  Gladstone  admitted  the  force  of  the 
prayer  in  Bishop  Wilberforce's  petition,  that  in 
view  of  this  concession  measures  should  be  taken 
to  give  greater  vigor  to  the   Church,  and  thus 


244  William  E.  Gladstone 

operate  to  the  prevention  of  an  organic  change 
in  the  relations  between  Chnrch  and  State,  In 
concluding  his  defence  of  Lord  John  Russell's 
resolution  Mr.  Gladstone  expressed  the  opinion 
that  if  they  admitted  Jews  into  Parliament,  preju- 
dice might  be  awakened  for  awhile,  but  the  good 
sense  of  the  people  would  soon  allay  it,  and 
members  would  have  the  consolation  of  knowing 
that  in  case  of  difficulty  they  had  yielded  to  a  sense 
of  justice,  and  by  so  doing  had  not  disparaged 
religion  or  lowered  Christianity,  but  rather  had 
elevated  both  in  all  reflecting  and  well-regulated 
minds.  The  logic  of  this  speech  could  not  be 
controverted,  though  Mr.  Newdegate  declared  that 
Mr.  Gladstone  would  never  have  gained  his 
election  for  the  University  of  Oxford  had  his 
sentiments  on  the  Jewish  question  been  then 
known.  The  resolution  of  Lord  John  Russell 
was  carried  by  a  large  majority,  whereupon  he 
announced  first  a  resolution,  and  then  a  bill,  in 
accordance  with  its  terms. 

The  year  1848  was  a  year  of  excitement  and 
revolution.  All  Europe  was  in  a  state  of  agita- 
tion, and  France  by  a  new  revolution  presented 
another  one  of  her  national  surprises.  The  news 
of  a  revolution  in  France  caused  the  greatest 
perturbation  throughout  England,  and  disturb- 
ances in  the  capital  of  the  country.  Great 
demonstrations  were  made  at  Trafalgar  Square 
and  Charing  Cross,  March  6th,  but  the  meetings 


Member  for  Oxford  245 

assumed  more  of  a  burlesque  tlian  of  a  serious 
character.  In  Glasgow  and  other  parts  of  the 
country  there  were  serious  riots.  Shops  were 
sacked,  and  the  military  was  called  out  to  quell 
the  disturbance,  which  was  not  effected  until  the 
soldiers  fired  with  fatal  results  upon  the  rioters. 
There  were  uprisings  and  mob  violence  also  at 
Manchester,  Edinburgh,  Newcastle,  but  they  were 
of  a  less  formidable  character.  A  Chartist  meet- 
ing was  held  on  Kennington  Common,  March 
13th,  but,  though  the  meeting  had  been  looked 
forward  to  with  great  apprehensions  by  all  lovers 
of  law  and  order,  yet  it  passed  off  without  the 
serious  results  anticipated. 

Though  great  preparations  were  made  in 
view  of  the  demonstration,  yet,  fortunately  it 
passed  off  without  loss  of  life.  The  meeting 
however  had  furnished  a  pretext  for  the  gathering 
of  a  lawless  mob,  although  but  few  were  politically 
concerned  in  it.  It  was  deemed  necessary,  to 
provide  against  every  emergency,  so  special  consta- 
bles in  great  numbers  were  sworn  in  previous  to 
the  meetings,  and  it  is  interesting  to  observe  that 
amongst  the  citizens  who  came  forward  in  London 
to  enroll  themselves  as  preservers  of  the  peace  of 
society  were  William  Ewart  Gladstone,  the  Duke 
of  Norfolk,  the  Earl  of  Derby,  and  Prince  Louis 
Napoleon,  afterwards  Emperor  of  France. 

The  people  were  becoming  dissatisfied  with 
the  government  of  the  country,  particularly  with 


246  William  E.  Gladstone 

its  financial  measures.  A  deficiency  of  two  million 
pounds  appeared,  and  additional  taxation  would 
be  necessary  owing  to  the  CafiFre  War.  It  was 
therefore  proposed  to  continue  the  income  tax  for 
five  years  and  increase  it  slightly.  Owing  to  the 
distress  in  Ireland  it  was  not  proposed  to  extend 
the  operation  of  this  measure  to  that  country. 
The  property  tax  was  defended  on  the  same 
principles  laid  down  by  Mr.  Pitt,  and  in  1842,  by 
Sir  Robert  Peel.  But  this  scheme  was  bitterly 
opposed  and  many  attributed  the  depressed  con- 
dition of  the  finances  to  free  trade.  Sir  Robert 
Peel  decided  to  support  the  proposed  tax  for  three 
years.  Mr.  Disraeli  desired  the  success  of  Sir 
Robert  Peel's  policy,  and  described  himself  as 
a  ^^  free-trader,  but  not  a  free-booter  of  the 
Manchester  school ;"  and  he  dubbed  the  blue- 
book  of  the  Import  Duties  Committee  "  the 
greatest  work  of  imagination  that  the  nineteenth 
century  has  produced."  He  said  that  the  govern- 
ment, by  acting  upon  it,  and  taking  it  for  a 
guide,  resembled  a  man  smoking  a  cigar  on  a 
barrel  of  gunpowder. 

This  epigrammatic  speech  of  Mr.  Disraeli 
brought  Mr.  Gladstone  to  his  feet.  He  said,  by 
way  of  introduction,  that  he  could  not  hope  to 
sustain  the  lively  interest  created  by  the  remark- 
able speech  of  his  predecessor — a  display  to  which 
he  felt  himself  unequal — he  would  pass  over 
the  m^-tters    of  a   personal    description  touched 


Member  for  Oxford  247 

upon  by  the  honorable  gentleman,  and  con- 
fine himself  to  defending  the  policy  which 
had  been  assailed.  Mr.  Gladstone  then  dem- 
onstrated, by  a  series  of  elaborate  statistics^ 
the  complete  success  of  Sir  Robert  Peel's  policy. 
He  also  said,  that  the  confidence  of  the  public 
would  be  greatly  shaken  by  an  adverse  vote,  and 
he  alluded  to  the  unsettled  condition  of  afifairs  in 
the  Cabinet.  ''  I  am  sure,"  said  Mr.  Gladstone, 
"  that  this  House  of  Commons  will  prove  itself 
to  be  worthy  of  the  Parliaments  which  preceded 
it,  worthy  of  the  Sovereign  which  it  has  been 
called  to  advise,  and  worthy  of  the  people  which 
it  has  been  chosen  to  represent,  by  sustaining 
this  nation,  and  enabling  it  to  stand  firm  in  the 
midst  of  the  convulsions  that  shake  European 
society ;  by  doing  all  that  pertains  to  us  for  the 
purpose  of  maintaining  social  order,  the  stability 
of  trade,  and  the  means  of  public  employment ; 
and  by  discharging  our  consciences,  on  our  own 
part,  under  the  difiicult  circumstances  of  the 
crisis,  in  the  perfect  trust  that  if  we  set  a  good 
example  to  the  nations — for  whose  interests  we 
are  appointed  to  consult — they,  too,  will  stand 
firm  as  they  have  in  other  times  of  almost  desper- 
ate emergency;  and  that  through  their  good  sense, 
their  moderation,  and  their  attachment  to  the 
institutions  of  the  country,  we  shall  see  these 
institutions  still  exist,  a  blessing  and  a  benefit  to 
prosperity,  whatever  alarms    and  whatever  mis- 


248  William  E.  Gladstone 

fortunes  may  unfortunately  befall  other  portions 
of  civilized  Europe." 

''  It  was  fortunate  for  the  future  interests  of 
the  country,"  says  Dr.  Smith,  his  biographer, 
"  that  the  proposals  of  the  government  were  at 
this  juncture  supported  by  a  great  majority  of 
the  House  of  Commons.  In  a  moment  of  un- 
reasoning panic  there  was  some  danger  of  the 
adoption  of  a  reactionary  policy — a  step  that 
would  have  lost  to  the  country  those  blessings 
which  it  subsequently  enjoyed  as  the  outcome  of 
Free  Trade." 

May  15,  Mr.  Labouchere,  President  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  proposed  a  plan  for  the  modifica- 
tion of  the  navigation  laws.  Reserving  the 
coasting  trade  and  fisheries  of  Great  Britain  and 
the  Colonies,  it  was  proposed  "  to  throw  open  the 
whole  navigation  of  the  country,  of  every  sort  and 
description."  But  the  Queen  claimed  the  right 
of  putting  such  restrictions  as  she  saw  fit  upon 
the  navigation  of  foreign  countries,  if  those 
countries  did  not  meet  England  on  equal  terms  ; 
and  that  each  colony  should  be  allowed  to  throw 
open  its  coasting  trade  to  foreign  countries.  Mr. 
Gladstone  made  a  lengthy  speech,  examining 
closely  the  operation  of  existing  laws,  and  show- 
ing the  necessity  for  their  repeal.  With  regard 
to  the  power  claimed  by  the  Queen  in  Council,  with 
a  view  to  enforcing  reciprocity,  Mr.  Gladstone 
said,  "  I  confess  it  appears  to  me  there  is  a  great 


Member  for  Oxford  249 

objection  to  conferring  such  a  power  as  that 
which  is  proposed  to  be  given  to  the  Queen  in 
Council."  He  contended  also  for  a  gradual 
change  in  the  laws.  The  policy  of  excluding  the 
coasting  trade  from  the  measure  he  also  con- 
demned. "  It  would  have  been  much  more  frank 
to  have  offered  to  admit  the  Americans  to  our 
coasting  trade  if  they  would  admit  us  to  theirs." 
If  England  and  America  concurred  in  setting  an 
example  to  the  world,  he  hoped  we  should  "  live 
to  see  the  ocean,  that  great  highway  of  nations, 
as  free  to  the  ships  that  traverse  its  bosom  as 
the  winds  that  sweep  it.  England  would  then 
have  achieved  another  triumph,  and  have  made 
another  powerful  contribution  to  the  prosperity 
of  mankind."  The  bill  was  postponed  until 
the   following   year. 

During  the  session  of  1848  Mr.  Gladstone 
spoke  upon  the  proposed  grant  of  Vancouver's 
Island  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company ;  and  upon 
the  Sugar  Duties  Bill ;  but  the  most  important 
speech  delivered  by  him  at  that  time  was  upon  a 
measure  to  legalize  diplomatic  relations  with  the 
Court  of  Rome.  It  was  objected  that  thus 
recognizing  the  spiritual  governor  of  Rome  and 
of  all  the  Roman  Catholic  population  of  the 
world,  would  neither  conciliate  the  affections 
of  the  Protestants,  nor  satisfy  the  wishes  of  the 
Roman  Catholics,  who  had  denounced  it  strongly 
to  the  Pope. 


250  William  E.  Gladstone 

Mr.  Gladstone  took  broad  and  comprehensive 
views  of  the  question.  To  some  features  of  the 
Bill  he  was  opposed,  but  was  in  favor  of  its 
principle.  It  was  unfortunate  as  to  time,  owing 
to  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Italy.  England 
must  take  one  of  two  positions.  If  she  declined 
political  communication  with  the  See  of  Rome, 
she  had  no  right  to  complain  of  any  steps  which 
the  Pope  might  take  with  respect  to  the  adminis- 
tration of  his  own  ecclesiastical  affairs ;  but  an 
act  so  directly  in  contravention  of  the  laws  of  the 
land  as  the  partitioning  of  the  country  into  arch- 
bishoprics and  bishoprics  was  a  most  unfortunate 
proceeding;  wrong  because  it  was  generally  and 
justly  offensive  to  the  feelings  of  the  people  of 
England,  and  totally  unnecessary,  as  he  believed, 
for  Roman  Catholic  purposes,  but  also  because 
it  ill  assorted  with  the  grounds  on  which  the 
Parliament  was  invited  by  the  present  bill  to 
establish  definite  relations  with  the  See  of  Rome. 
For  one  hundred  years  after  the  Reformation  the 
Pope  was  actually  in  arms  for  the  purpose  of 
recovering  by  force  his  lost  dominions  in  this 
country.  It  was  only  natural,  therefore,  that  we 
should  have  prohibited  relations  with  the  See  of 
Rome  when  it  attacked  the  title  of  the  Sovereign 
of  these  realms,  but  there  was  no  such  reason  for 
continuing  the  prohibition  at  the  present  moment. 

Those  who  have  studied  Mr.  Gladstone's 
career  carefully   attest  that  this  speech  would 


Member  for  Oxford  251 

have  been  impossible  from  his  lips  ten  years 
before  the  time  it  was  delivered ;  and  early  in 
the  next  session  of  Parliament  he  delivered 
another  speech  which  furnishes  us  an  example 
of  the  growth  of  his  liberal  views  in  matters  of 
conscience.  Lord  John  Russell  proposes  further 
relief  upon  the  matter  of  oaths  to  be  taken  by 
members  of  Parliament.  Mr.  Gladstone  said 
that  the  civil  political  claims  of  the  Jew  should 
not  be  barred,  and  he  deprecated  the  tendency  to 
degenerate  formalism  in  oaths,  but  he  was  glad 
that  the  words,  ^'  on  the  true  faith  of  a  Christian  " 
in  respect  to  all  Christian  members  of  the  House 
of  Commons  had  been  retained.  He  also,  later 
in  the  session,  favored  correcting  the  enormous 
evils  growing  out  of  the  Church  rate  system,  with 
taxation  of  all  the  further  support  of  the  State 
Church.  He  did  not  believe  in  imposing  an 
uncompensated  burden  upon  any  man.  Every 
man  contributing  his  quota  was  entitled  to 
demand  a  free  place  in  the  house  of  his  Maker. 
**But  the  centre  and  best  parts  of  the  Church 
were  occupied  by  pews  exclusively  for  the  middle 
classes,  while  the  laboring  classes  were  jealously 
excluded  from  almost  every  part  of  light  and 
hearing  in  the  Churches,  and  were  treated  in 
a  manner  most  painful  to  reflect  upon." 

When  Mr.  Labouchere  re-introduced  the 
ministerial  bill  for  the  repeal  of  the  Navigation 
Laws,   in  the   session   of  1849,   ^^-  Gladstone 


252  William  E.  Gladstone 

supported  generally  the  measure  in  a  full  and 
exhaustive  speech.  He  favored  the  bill  with 
certain  modifications.  The  Marquis  of  Granby 
expressed  fears  at  the  consequences  of  the  change 
proposed,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  answered  him: 
"The  noble  Marquis/'  he  observed,  "desired  to 
expel  the  vapours  and  exhalations  that  had  been 
raised  with  regard  to  the  principle  of  political 
economy,  and  which  vapours  and  exhalations  I 
find  for  the  most  part  in  the  fears  with  which 
those  changes  are  regarded.  The  noble  Marquis 
consquently  hoped  that  the  Trojan  horse  would 
not  be  allowed  to  come  within  the  walls  of 
Parliament.  But  however  applicable  the  figures 
may  be  to  other  plans,  it  does  not,  I  submit,  apply 
to  the  mode  of  proceeding  I  venture  to  recommend 
to  the  House,  because  we  follow  the  precedent  of 
what  Mr.  Huskisson  did  before  us.  Therefore 
more  than  one  moiety  of  the  Trojan  horse  has 
already  got  within  the  citadel — it  has  been  there 
for  twenty-five  years,  and  yet  what  has  proceeded 
from  its  bowels  has  only  tended  to  augment  the 
rate  of  increase  in  the  progress  of  your  shipping. 
Therefore,  let  us  not  be  alarmed  by  vague  and 
dreamy  ratiocinations  of  evil,  which  had  never 
been  wanting  on  any  occasion,  and  which  never 
will  be  wanting  so  long  as  this  is  a  free  State, 
wherein  every  man  can  find  full  vent  and  scope 
for  the  expression,  not  only  of  his  principles, 
but   of  his   prejudices   and  his   fears.     Let  us 


of 


Gladstone's  Later  English  Contemporaries. 


Member  for  Oxford  255 

not  be  deterred  by  those  apprebensions  from 
giving  a  calm  and  serious  examination  to  this 
question,  connected  as  it  is  with  tbe  welfare  of 
our  country.  Let  us  follow  steadily  tbe  ligbt  of 
experience,  and  be  convinced  tbat  He  wbo  pre- 
served us  during  the  past  will  also  be  sufficient 
to  sustain  us  during  all  the  dangers  of  tbe 
future." 

Mr.  Disraeli  seized  the  opportunity  to  make 
a  caustic  speech,  in  which  he  fiercely  attacked 
both  Mr.  Labouchere  and  Mr.  Gladstone, 
and  alluded  sarcastically  to  their  "  great  sacri- 
fices, "  and  said  that  the  latter  was  about  to  give 
up  that  good  development  of  the  principle  of 
reciprocity  which  the  House  had  waited  for  with 
so  much  suspense.  Mr.  Gladstone  replied,  "  I  am 
perfectly  satisfied  to  bear  his  sarcasm,  good 
humoured  and  brilliant  as  it  is,  while  I  can  appeal 
to  his  judgment  as  to  whether  the  step  I  have 
taken  was  unbecoming  in  one  who  conscientiously 
differs  with  him  on  the  freedom  of  trade,  and  has 
endeavoured  to  realize  it ;  because,  so  far  from  its 
being  the  cause  of  the  distress  of  the  country,  it 
has  been,  under  the  mercy  of  God,  the  most  signal 
and  effectual  means  of  mitigating  this  distress, 
and  accelerating  the  dawn  of  the  day  of  returning 
prosperity '' 

Mr.  Gladstone  spoke  also  during  the  session 
upon  the  subject  of  Colonial  Reform  which  came 


256  William  E.  Gladstone 

before  the  House  on  several  occasions,  and  es- 
pecially in  connection  with  riots  in  Canada ;  and 
on  a  bill  for  the  removal  of  legal  restrictions 
against  marriage  with  a  deceased  wife's  sister. 
He  opposed  the  latter  measure  upon  theological, 
social,  and  moral  grounds,  and  begged  the  House 
to  repeat  the  almost  entire  sentiment  of  the  country 
respecting  the  bill.  To  do  otherwise  would  be 
to  inflict  upon  the  Church  the  misfortune  of 
having  anarchy  introduced  among  its  ministers. 
He  hoped  they  would  do  all  that  in  them  lay  to 
maintain  the  strictness  of  the  obligations  of 
marriage,  and  the  purity  of  the  hallowed  sphere 
of  domestic  life.     The  bill  was  rejected. 

In  the  Parliamentary  session  of  1850  one  of 
the  chief  topics  of  discussion  was  the  great  depres- 
sion of  the  agricultural  interests  of  the  country. 
The  country  was  at  peace,  the  revenues  were  in 
a  good  condition,  foreign  trade  had  increased,  but 
the  farmers  still  made  loud  complaints  of  the 
disastrous  condition,  which  they  attributed  to 
free-trade  measures,  which  they  contended  had 
affected  the  whole  of  the  agricultural  interests. 
Consequently,  February  19th,  Mr.  Disraeli  moved 
for  a  committee  of  the  whole  House  to  consider 
such  a  revision  of  the  Poor  Laws  of  the  United 
Kingdom  as  might  mitigate  the  distress  of  the 
agricultural  classes.  Some  thought  that  this  was 
a  movement  against  free-trade,  but  Mr.  Gladstone 
courted  the  fullest  investigation,  and  seeing  no 


Member  for  Oxford  257 

danger  in  tHe  motion,  voted  for  it.  However,  the 
motion  of  Mr.  Disraeli  was  lost. 

Mr.  Gladstone  likewise  favored  the  extension 
of  the  benefits  of  Constitutional  government  to 
certain  of  the  colonies, — for  example  as  set  forth 
in  the  Australian  Colonies  Government  Bill ; 
and  twice  during  the  session  he  addressed  the 
House  on  questions  connected  with  slavery,  and 
upon  motion  of  Mr.  Haywood  for  an  inquiry  into 
the  state  of  the  English  and  Irish  universities, 
and  the  government  unexpectedly  gave  their 
consent  to  the  issuing  of  a  Royal  Commission 
for  the  purpose.  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  any 
person  who  might  be  deliberating  with  himself 
whether  he  would  devote  a  portion  of  his  substance 
for  prosecuting  the  objects  of  learning,  civilization 
and  religion,  would  be  checked  by  the  prospect 
that  at  any  given  time,  and  under  any  given 
circumstances,  a  minister,  who  was  the  creature 
of  a  political  majority,  might  institute  a  state 
inquiry  into  the  mode  in  which  the  funds  he 
might  devise  were  administered.  It  was  not  wise 
to  discourage  eleemosynary  establishments.  It 
would  be  better  for  the  Crown  to  see  what  could 
be  done  to  improve  the  colleges  by  administering 
existing  laws. 

In  reviewing  the  past  ten  years  we  exclaim, 
truly  has  the  period  from  1841  to  1850,  in  the 
political  life  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  been  called  a 
memorable  decade. 


258  William  E.  Gladstone 

It  was  in  the  year  1850,  as  we  have  seen, 
that  the  Gladstones  were  plunged  into  domestic 
sorrow  by  the  death  of  their  little  daughter, 
Catharine  Jessy ;  and  it  was  this  same  year  that 
brought  to  Mr.  Gladstone  another  grief  from  a 
very  different  source.  This  second  bereavement 
was  caused  by  the  withdrawal  of  two  of  his  oldest 
and  most  intimate  friends,  the  Archdeacon  of 
Chichester  and  Mr.  J.  R.  Hope,  from  the  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Church  of  England  and  their  union 
with  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Mr.  Hope,  who 
became  Hope-Scott  on  succeeding  to  the  estate  of 
Abbotsford,  was  the  gentleman  who  helped 
Mr.  Gladstone  in  getting  through  the  press  his 
book  on  Church  and  State,  revising,  correct- 
ing and  reading  proof.  The  Archdeacon,  after- 
wards Cardinal  Manning,  had,  from  his  under- 
graduate days,  exercised  a  powerful  influence 
over  his  contemporaries.  He  was  gifted  with 
maturity  of  intellect  and  character,  had  great 
shrewdness,  much  tenacity  of  will,  a  cogent, 
attractive  style,  combined  with  an  impressive  air 
of  authority,  to  which  the  natural  advantages  of 
person  and  bearing  added  force.  Besides  having 
these  qualifications  for  leadership,  he  had  fervid 
devotion,  enlarged  acquaintance  with  life  and 
men,  and  an  "  unequalled  gift  of  administration;" 
though  a  priest,  he  was  essentially  a  statesman, 
and  had  at  one   time   contemplated   a   political 


Member  for  Oxford  259 

career.  He  was  Mr.  Gladstone's  most  trusted 
counsellor  and  most  intimate  friend. 

The  cause,  or  rather  occasion  for  these 
secessions  from  the  Church  of  England  to  the 
Church  of  Rome,  is  thus  related :  "  An  Evan- 
gelical clergyman,  the  Rev.  G.  C.  Gorham,  had 
been  presented  to  a  living  in  the  diocese  of  Exeter ; 
and  that  truly  formidable  prelate,  Bishop  Phill- 
potts,  refused  to  institute  him,  alleging  that  he 
held  heterodox  views  on  the  subject  of  Holy 
Baptism.  After  complicated  litigation,  the 
Judicial  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council  decided, 
on  March  8,  1850,  that  the  doctrine  held  by  the 
incriminated  clergyman  was  not  such  as  to  bar 
him  from  preferment  in  the  Church  of  England. 
This  decision  naturally  created  great  commotion 
in  the  Church.  Men's  minds  were  rudely 
shaken.  The  orthodoxy  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land seemed  to  be  jeopardized,  and  the  supremacy 
of  the  Privy  Council  was  in  a  matter  touching 
religious  doctrine  felt  to  be  an  intolerable 
burden." 

Mr.  Gladstone,  as  well  as  others,  was  pro- 
foundly agitated  by  these  events,  and  June  4th 
he  expressed  his  views  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Blom- 
field.  Bishop  of  London.  The  theme  of  his  letter 
was,  "  The  Royal  Supremacy,  viewed  in  the  light 
of  Reason,  History  and  the  Constitution."  He 
contended  that  the  Royal  Supremacy,  as  settled 
at  the  Reformation,  was  not  inconsistent  with  th^ 


26o  William  E.  Gladstone 

spiritual  life  and  inherent  jurisdiction  of  the 
CHurcli,  but  the  recent  establishment  of  the 
Privy  Council  as  the  ultimate  court  of  appeal  in 
religious  causes  was  "  an  injurious  and  even 
dangerous  departure  from  the  Reformation 
settlement." 

In  this  letter  Mr.  Gladstone  said,  in  sum- 
ming up :  ''I  find  it  no  part  of  my  duty,  my 
lord,  to  idolize  the  Bishops  of  England  and 
Wales,  or  to  place  my  conscience  in  their  keep- 
ing. I  do  not  presume  or  dare  to  speculate  upon 
their  particular  decisions  ;  but  I  say  that,  acting 
jointly,  publicly,  solemnly,  responsibly,  they  are 
the  best  and  most  natural  organs  of  the  judicial 
office  of  the  Church  in  matters  of  heresy,  and, 
according  to  reason,  history  and  the  constitution, 
in  that  subject-matter  the  fittest  and  safest  coun- 
sellors of  the  Crown." 

But  this  view  regarding  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land did  not  suit  some  minds,  and  among  them 
the  two  friends  with  whom  Mr.  Gladstone  had, 
up  to  this  time,  acted  in  religious  matters. 
These  troubles  in  the  Church  so  powerfully 
affected  them  that  they  withdrew. 

The  following  quotation  shows  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's firmness  in  regard  to  his  own  choice  of 
the  Protestant  Christianity  over  and  above 
Catholicism.  In  a  letter,  written  in  1873,  to 
Mrs.  Maxwell-Scott,  of  Abbotsford,  the  daughter 
of  his  friend  Hope,  he  thus  writes  of  an  interview 


Member  for  Oxford 


261 


had  with  her  father  :  ^'  It  must  have  been  about 
this  time  that  I  had  another  conversation  with 
him  about  religion,  of  which,  again,  I  exactly 
recollect  the  spot.  Regarding  (forgive  me)  the 
adoption  of  the  Roman  religion  by  members  of 
the  Church  of  England  as  nearly  the  greatest 
calamity  that  could  befall  Christian  faith  in  this 
country,  I  rapidly  became  alarmed  when  these 
changes  began  ;  and  very  long  before  the  great 
luminary.  Dr.  Newman,  drew  after  him,  it  may 
well  be  said,  ^  the  third  part  of  the  stars  of 
Heaven.'  This  alarm  I  naturally  and  freely 
expressed  to  the  man  upon  whom  I  most  relied, 
your  father." 


Gladstone  in  Wales ;  addressing  a  meeting  at  the  foot  of  Snowden 


CHAPTER  VIII 
The  Neapolitan  Prisons 

/IN  considering  Mr.  Gladstone's  exposure 
^^y  of  the  cruelties  practiced  in  tlie  prisons 
^^  of  Naples,  we  are  confronted  with  his 
attitude  in  the  House  of  Commons  just 
before,  in  a  case  where  the  same  prin- 
ciples seemed  to  be  involved,  and  in  which 
Mr.  Gladstone  took  the  directly  opposite  course. 
We  refer  to  the  Don  Pacifico  case.  Both  were 
at  first  merely  personal  questions,  but  finally 
became  international.  Mr.  Gladstone  to  many 
appeared  to  take  an  inconsistent  course  in  these 
seemingly  similar  cases,  in  that  while  opposing 
national  intervention  in  the  affairs  of  Don  Pacifico, 
he  tried  to  stir  up  all  Europe  for  the  relief  of  the 
sufferers  in  the  Neapolitan  prisons.  "  It  is  not 
a  little  remarkable  that  the  statesman  who  had 
so  lately  and  so  vigorously  denounced  the  *  vain 
conception  that  we,  forsooth,  have  a  mission  to 
be  the  censors  of  vice  and  folly,  of  abuse  and 
imperfection,  among  the  other  countries  of  the 
worid/  should  now  have  found  himself  irresistibly 
262 


The  Neapolitan  Prisons  263 

impelled  by  conscience  and  humanity  to  under- 
take a  signal  and  effective  crusade  against  the 
domestic  administration  of  a  friendly  power." 

The  most  memorable  debate  in  the  new 
chamber  of  the  House  of  Commons,  which  was 
first  occupied  in  1850,  was  that  associated  with 
the  name  of  Don  Pacifico.  It  is  however  con- 
ceded that  the  circumstances  from  which  it  all 
proceeded  were  comparatively  trivial  in  the 
extreme.  Don  Pacifico  was  a  Maltese  Jew  and  a 
British  subject,  dwelling  at  Athens.  He  had 
made  himself  distasteful  to  the  people  of  Athens, 
and  consequently  his  house  was  destroyed  and 
robbed  by  a  mob,  April  4,  1847.  ^^  appealed  to 
the  government  at  Athens  for  redress,  demanding 
over  $150,000  indemnity  for  the  loss  of  his 
property,  among  which  '^  a  peculiarly  sumptuous 
bedstead  figured  largely."  Don  Pacifico's  claim 
was  unheeded,  probably  because  it  was  exorbitant 
and  the  Greek  government  was  poor.  Lord 
Palmerston  was  then  the  Foreign  Secretary  of 
the  English  Government.  He  was  rash  and 
independent  in  his  foreign  policy,  and  often  acted, 
as  the  Queen  complained,  without  consultation 
and  without  the  authority  of  the  Sovereign. 

The  Foreign  Secretary  had  had  other 
quarrels  with  the  Government  at  Athens.  Land 
belonging  to  an  English  resident  in  Athens  had 
been  seized  without  sufficient  compensation ; 
Ionian    subjects    of    the    English    Crown    had 


264  William  E.  Gladstone 

suffered  Hardships  at  the  hands  of  the  Greek 
authorities,  and  an  English  Midshipman  had 
been  arrested  by  mistake.  Lord  Palmerston 
looked  upon  these  incidents,  slight  as  they  were 
in  themselves,  as  indicative  of  a  plot  on  the 
part  of  the  French  Minister  against  the  English, 
and  especially  as  the  Greek  Government  was  so 
dilatory  in  satisfying  the  English  claims.  "  This 
was  enough.  The  outrage  on  Don  Pacifico's  bed- 
stead remained  the  head  and  front  of  Greek  offend- 
ing, but  Lord  Palmerston  included  all  the  other 
slight  blunders  and  delays  of  justice  in  one  sweep- 
ing indictment ;  made  the  private  claims  into  a 
national  demand,  and  peremptorily  informed  the 
Greek  Government  that  they  must  pay  what  was 
demanded  of  them  within  a  given  time.  The  Gov- 
ernment hesitated,  and  the  British  fleet  was 
ordered  to  the  Piraeus,  and  seized  all  the  Greek 
vessels  which  were  found  in  the  waters.  Russia 
and  France  took  umbrage  at  this  high-handed  pro- 
ceeding and  championed  Greece.  Lord  Palmers- 
ton informed  them  it  was  none  of  their  business 
and  stood  firm.  The  French  Ambassador  was 
withdrawn  from  London,  and  for  awhile  the  peace 
of  Europe  was  menaced."  The  execution  of  the 
orders  of  Lord  Palmerston  was  left  with  Admiral 
Sir  William  Parker,  who  was  first  to  proceed  to 
Athens  with  the  English  fleet,  and  failing  to 
obtain  satisfaction  was  to  blockade  the  Piraeus, 
which  instructions  he  faithfully  obeyed. 


The  Neapolitan  Prisons  265 

Tlie  debate  began  in  Parliament  Jnne  24, 
1850.  The  stability  of  the  Whig  administration, 
then  in  power,  depended  upon  the  results.  In 
the  House  of  Lords,  Lord  Stanley  moved  a  reso- 
lution, which  was  carried,  expressing  regret  that 
''  various  claims  against  the  Greek  Government, 
doubtful  in  point  of  justice  and  exaggerated  in 
amount,  have  been  enforced  by  coercive  meas- 
ures, directed  against  the  commerce  and  people 
of  Greece,  and  calculated  to  endanger  the  con- 
tinuance of  our  friendly  relations  with  foreign 
powers."  A  counter-resolution  was  necessary  in 
the  House  of  Commons  to  offset  the  action  of 
the  Lords,  so  a  Radical,  Mr.  Roebuck,  much  to 
the  surprise  of  many,  came  to  the  defense  of  the 
Government  and  offered  the  following  motion, 
which  was  carried:  "That  the  principles  which 
have  hitherto  regulated  the  foreign  policy  of  Her 
Majesty's  Government  are  such  as  were  required 
to  preserve  untarnished  the  honor  and  dignity  of 
this  country,  and,  in  times  of  unexampled  diffi- 
culty, the  best  calculated  to  maintain  peace 
between  England  and  the  various  nations  of  the 
world." 

The  debate  which  followed,  and  which  was 
prolonged  over  four  nights,  was  marked  on  both 
sides  by  speeches  of  unusual  oratorical  power  and 
brilliancy.  The  speeches  of  Lord  Palmers  ton. 
Sir  Robert  Peel,  Mr.  Cockbum,  Mr.  Cobden, 
Mr.  Disraeli  and  Mr.  Gladstone  were  pronounced 


266  William  e.  Gladstone 

as  remarkable  orations.  Sir  Robert  Peel  made 
a  powerful  speech  against  the  Ministers,  wbich 
was  made  memorable  not  only  for  its  eloquence, 
but  because  it  was  bis  last.  Lord  Palmerston 
defended  Himself  vigorously  in  a  speech  of  five 
hours'  duration.  "He  spoke,"  said  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, "  from  the  dusk  of  one  day  to  the  dawn  of 
the  next."  He  defended  his  policy  at  every 
point.  In  every  step  taken  he  had  been  in- 
fluenced by  the  sole  desire  that  the  meanest, 
the  poorest,  even  the  most  disreputable  subject 
of  the  English  Crown  should  be  defended  by  the 
whole  might  of  England  against  foreign  oppres- 
sion. He  reminded  them  of  all  that  was  implied 
in  the  Roman  boast,  Civis  Romanus  sum^  and 
urged  the  House  to  make  it  clear  that  a  British 
subject,  in  whatever  land  he  might  be,  should 
feel  confident  that  the  watchful  eye  and  the 
strong  arm  of  England  could  protect  him.  This 
could  not  be  resisted.  Civis  Romanus  sum 
settled  the  question. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  reply  was  a  masterpiece. 
It  was  exhaustive  and  trenchant,  and  produced 
a  great  effect.  He  first  spoke  upon  the  position 
of  the  Government  and  the  constitutional  doc- 
trines which  they  had  laid  down  in  regard  to  it, 
and  then  severely  condemned  the  conduct  of  the 
Premier  for  being  so  heedless  of  the  censure  of 
the  House  of  Lords  and  in  trying  to  shield  him- 
self behind  the  precedents  which  are  in  reality 


The  Neapolitan  Prisons  267 

no  precedents  at  all.  With  reference  to  the 
Greek  question,  he  repudiated  precedents  which 
involved  the  conduct  of  strong  countries  against 
weak  ones.  The  Greek  Government  had  put  no 
impediment  in  the  way  of  arbitration.  Instead 
of  trusting  and  trying  the  tribunals  of  the 
country  and  employing  diplomatic  agency  sim- 
ply as  a  supplemental  resource,  Lord  Palmers- 
ton  had  interspersed  authority  of  foreign  power, 
in  contravention  both  of  the  particular  stipula- 
tions of  the  treaty  in  force  between  Greece  and 
England  and  of  the  general  principles  of  the 
law  of  nations.  He  had  thus  set  the  mischievous 
example  of  abandoning  the  methods  of  law  and 
order,  and  resorted  to  those  of  force.  Non-inter- 
ference had  been  laid  down  as  the  basis  of 
our  conduct  towards  other  nations,  but  the  policy 
of  Lord  Palmerston  had  been  characterized  by  a 
spirit  of  active  interference. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  words  were  in  part  as 
follows :  "  Does  he  [Lord  Palmerston]  make 
the  claim  for  us  [the  English]  that  we  are  to  be 
lifted  upon  a  platform  high  above  the  standing- 
ground  of  all  other  nations?  *  *  *  It  is 
indeed  too  clear  *  *  *  that  he  adopts,  in 
part,  the  vain  conception  that  we,  forsooth,  have 
a  mission  to  be  the  censors  of  vice  and  foll}^,  of 
abuse  and  imperfection  among  the  other  coun- 
tries of  the  world  ;  that  we  are  to  be  the  univer- 
sal schoolmasters,  and  that  all  those  who  hesitate 


268  William  E.  Gladstone 

to  recognize  our  office  can  be  governed  only  by 
prejudice  or  personal  animosity,  and  sball  bave 
tbe  blind  war  of  diplomacy  forthwith  declared 
against  them." 

Again  :  "  Let  us  recognize,  and  recognize 
with  frankness,  the  equality  of  the  weak  with 
the  strong ;  the  principles  of  brotherhood  among 
nations,  and  of  their  sacred  independence. 
When  we  are  asking  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
rights  which  belong  to  our  fellow-subjects,  resi- 
dent in  Greece,  let  us  do  as  we  would  be  done 
by,  and  let  us  pay  all  respect  to  a  feeble  State 
and  to  the  infancy  of  free  institutions.  *  *  * 
Let  us  refrain  from  all  gratuitous  and  arbitrary 
meddling  in  the  internal  concerns  of  other  States, 
even  as  we  should  resent  the  same  interference 
if  it  were  attempted  to  be  practiced  toward 
ourselves." 

In  this  address  Mr.  Gladstone  evinces  his 
inclination  to  appeal,  to  the  higher  and  nobler 
nature  of  man,  to  the  principles  of  brotherhood 
among  nations,  to  the  law  of  God  and  nature, 
and  to  ask  as  a  test  of  the  foreign  policy  of  the 
government,  not  whether  it  is  striking,  or  bril- 
liant, or  successful,  but  whether  it  is  right. 

This  speech  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  was  recog- 
nized as  the  finest  he  had  delivered  in  Parlia- 
ment, and  its  power  was  acknowledged  by  both 
sides  of  the  House,  by  political  opponent  and 
friend.     Lord   Chief  Justice   Cockbum,  then  a 


The  Neapolitan  Prisons  269 

member  of  tlie  House,  referring  in  a  speech  the 
following  evening  to  Mr.  Gladstone  and  his 
remarkable  speech,  uttered  these  words :  *'  I 
suppose  we  are  now  to  consider  him  as  the 
representative  of  Lord  Stanley  in  the  House — 
Gladstone  Vice  Disraeli,  am  I  to  say,  resigned  or 
superseded  "  ?     The  government  was  sustained. 

We  have  already  stated  that  it  was  during 
this  memorable  debate  that  Sir  Robert  Peel 
made  his  last  speech.  On  the  following  day, 
29th  of  June,  1850,  Sir  Robert  called  at  Bucking- 
ham Palace  for  the  purpose  of  leaving  his  card. 
On  proceeding  up  Constitution  Hill  on  horse 
back  he  met  one  of  Lady  Dover^s  daughters,  and 
exchanged  salutations.  Immediately  afterwards 
his  horse  became  restive  and  shying  towards  the 
rails  of  the  Green  Park,  threw  Sir  Robert  side- 
ways on  his  left  shoulder.  Medical  aid  was  at 
hand  and  was  at  once  administered.  Sir  Robert 
groaned  when  lifted  and  when  asked  whether  he 
was  much  hurt  replied,  ^^  Yes,  very  much."  He 
was  conveyed  home  where  the  meeting  with  his 
family  was  very  affecting,  and  he  swooned  in  the 
arms  of  his  physician.  He  was  placed  upon  a 
sofa  in  the  dining-room  from  which  he  never 
moved.  His  sufferings  were  so  acute  that  a 
minute  examination  of  his  injuries  could  not  be 
made.  For  two  or  three  days  he  lingered  and 
then  died,  July  2d.  An  examination  made  after 
death  revealed  the  fact  that  the  fifth  rib  on  the 


270  William  E.  Gladstone 

left  side  was  fractured,  the  broken  rib  pressing 
on  the  lung,  producing  effusion  and  pulmonary 
engorgement.  Tbis  was  probably  the  seat  of  tbe 
mortal  injury,  and  was  where  Sir  Robert  com- 
plained of  the  greatest  pain. 

The  news  of  Sir  Robert's  death  produced  a 
profound  sensation  throughout  the  land.  Great 
and  universal  were  the  tokens  of  respect  and 
grief.  There  was  but  one  feeling, — that  England 
had  lost  one  of  her  most  illustrious  statesmen. 
Even  those  who  had  been  in  opposition  to  his 
views,  alluded  to  the  great  loss  the  nation  had 
sustained  and  paid  a  fitting  tribute  to  his 
memory.  The  House  of  Commons,  on  motion  of 
Mr.  Hume'  July  3d,  at  once  adjourned„  In  the 
House  of  Lords  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and 
Lord  Brougham  spoke  in  appreciative  words  of 
the  departed  statesman.  "  Such  was  the  leader 
whom  Mr.  Gladstone  had  faithfully  followed  for 
many  years." 

Supporting  Mr.  Hume's  motion,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone said:  "I  am  quite  sure  that  every  heart 
is  much  too  full  to  allow  us,  at  a  period  so  early, 
to  enter  upon  a  consideration  of  the  amount  of 
that  calamity  with  which  the  country  has  been 
visited  in  his,  I  must  even  now  say,  premature 
death ;  for  though  he  has  died  full  of  years  and 
full  of  honors,  yet  it  is  a  death  which  our  human 
eyes  will  regard  as  premature ;  because  we  had 
fondly  hoped  that,  in  whatever  position  he  was 


The  Neapolitan  Prisons  273 

placed,  by  the  weight  of  His  character,  by  the 
splendor  of  his  talents,  by  the  purity  of  his 
virtues,  he  would  still  have  been  spared  to  render 
to  his  countrymen  the  most  essential  services. 
I  will  only,  sir,  quote  those  most  touching  and 
feeling  lines  which  were  applied  by  one  of  the 
greatest  poets  of  this  country  to  the  memory  of 
a  man  great  indeed,  but  yet  not  greater  than 
Sir  Robert  Peel: 

'  Now  is  the  stately  column  broke, 
The  beacon  light  is  quenched  in  smoke  ; 
The  trumpet's  silver  voice  is  still  ; 
The  warder  silent  on  the  hill.' 

"Sir,  I  will  add  no  more — in  saying  this  I 
have,  perhaps,  said  too  much.  It  might  have 
been  better  had  I  confined  myself  to  seconding 
the  motion.  I  am  sure  the  tribute  of  respect 
which  we  now  offer  will  be  all  the  more  valuable 
from  the  silence  with  which  the  motion  is 
received,  and  which  I  well  know  has  not  arisen 
from  the  want,  but  from  the  excess  of  feeling 
on  the  part  of  members  of  this  House. ^' 

Upon  the  death  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  began 
the  disintegration  of  the  party  distinguished  by 
his  name — Peelites.  Some  of  its  members 
united  with  the  Conservatives,  and  others,  such 
as  Sir  James  Graham,  Sidney  Herbert,  and 
Mr.  Gladstone  held  themselves  aloof  from  both 
Whigs  and  Tories.  Conservative  traditions  still 
exercised  considerable  influence  over  them,  but 


274  William  E.  Gladstone 

cHey  could  not  join  them,  because  they  were 
already  surrendering  to  strong  liberal  tendencies. 
It  is  said  that  Mr.  Gladstone  at  this  time,  and  for 
a  decade  thereafter,  until  the  death  of  Sir  James 
Graham,  was  greatly  indebted  to  this  statesman, 
not  only  for  the  growth  of  his  liberal  principles, 
but  for  his  development  as  a  practical  statesman. 
Sir  James  wielded  great  influence  over  his 
contemporaries  generally,  because  of  his  great 
knowledge  of  Parliamentary  tactics,  and  the  fact 
that  he  was  the  best  educated  and  most  thorough- 
ly accomplished  statesman  of  his  age.  ^'  If  he 
could  be  prevailed  upon  to  speak  in  the  course 
of  a  great  debate,  his  speech  was  worth  fifty 
votes,"  so  great  was  his  influence  and  power. 
*'  However  great  may  have  been  the  indebtedness 
of  Mr.  Gladstone  to  Sir  James  Graham,  if  the 
former  had  not  been  possessed  of  far  wider 
sympathies — to  say  nothing  of  superior  special 
intellectual  qualities — than  his  political  mentor, 
he  never  could  have  conceived  and  executed 
those  important  legislative  acts  for  which  his 
name  will  now  chiefly  be  remembered." 

The  other  case  occupying  the  attention  of 
Parliament,  to  which  we  have  alluded,  we  must 
now  consider — Mr.  Gladstone  and  the  prisons  of 
Naples.  Owing  to  the  illness  of  one  of  his 
children,  for  whom  a  southern  climate  was 
recommended,  Mr.  Gladstone  spent  several 
months   of   the  Winter  of    1850-1  in  Naples, 


The  Neapolitan  Prisons  275 

His  brief  visit  to  this  city  on  a  purely  domestic 
mission  was  destined  to  assume  an  international 
importance.  It  came  to  his  knowledge  that  a 
large  number  of  the  citizens  of  Naples,  who  had 
been  members  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  an 
actual  majority  of  the  representatives  of  the 
people,  had  been  exiled  or  imprisoned  by  King 
Ferdinand,  because  they  formed  the  opposition 
party  to  the  government,  and  that  between 
twenty  and  thirty  thousand  of  that  monarch's 
subjects  had  been  cast  into  prison  on  the  charge 
of  political  disaffection.  The  sympathies  of  Mr. 
Gladstone  were  at  once  enlisted  in  behalf  of  the 
oppressed  Neapolitans.  At  first  Mr.  Gladstone 
looked  at  the  matter  only  from  a  humanitarian 
and  not  from  a  political  aspect,  and  it  was  only 
upon  the  former  ground  that  he  felt  called  and 
impelled  to  attempt  the  redress  of  the  wrrngs 
which  were  a  scandal  to  the  name  of  civilisation 
in  Europe.  And  it  was  not  long  before  Eugland 
and  the  Continent  were  aroused  by  his  denunci- 
ations of  the  Neapolitan  system  of  government. 
Mr.  Gladstone  first  carefully  ascertained 
the  truth  of  the  statements  made  to  him  in 
order  to  attest  their  accuracy,  and  then  published 
two  letters  on  the  subject  addressed  to  the  Earl 
of  Aberdeen.  These  letters  were  soon  followed 
by  a  third.  In  the  first  of  these  letters,  dated 
April  7, 1851,  he  brings  an  elaborate,  detailed  and 
horrible  indictment  against  the  rulers  of  Naples, 


276  William  E.  Gladstone 

especially  as  regards  their  prisons  and  tHe  treat- 
ment of  persons  confined  in  them  for  political 
offenses.  He  disclaimed  any  thought  of  having 
gone  to  Naples  for  the  purpose  of  political 
criticism  or  censorship,  to  look  for  defects  in  the 
administration  of  the  government,  or  to  hear  the 
grievances  of  the  people,  or  to  propagate  ideas 
belonging  to  another  country.  But  after  a 
residence  of  three  or  four  months  in  their  city 
he  had  retured  home  with  a  deep  feeling  of  the 
duty  upon  him  to  make  some  endeavor  to 
mitigate  the  horrors  in  the  midst  of  which  the 
government  of  Naples  was  carried  on. 

There  were  chiefly  three  reasons  that  led 
him  to  adopt  the  present  course:  ^' First,  that 
the  present  practices  of  the  Government  of 
Naples,  in  reference  to  real  or  supposed  political 
offenders,  are  an  outrage  upon  religion,  upon 
civilization,  upon  humanity  and  upon  decency. 
Secondly,  that  these  practices  are  certainly,  and 
even  rapidly,  doing  the  work  of  Republicanism 
in  that  country — a  political  creed  which  has 
little  natural  or  habitual  root  in  the  character  of 
the  people.  Thirdly,  that  as  a  member  of  the 
Conservative  party  in  one  of  the  great  family  of 
European  nations,  I  am  compelled  to  remember 
that  party  stands  in  virtual  and  real,  though 
perhaps  unconscious  alliance  with  all  the 
established  Governments  of  Europe  as  such  ; 
and    that,   according    to    the    measure    of   its 


The  Neapolitan  Prisons  277 

influence,  they  suffer  more  or  less  of  moral 
detriment  from  its  reverses,  and  derive  strength, 
and  encouragement  from  its  successes." 

He  passed  over  the  consideration  of  the  all 
important  question  whether  the  actual  Govern- 
ment of  the  Two  Sicilies  was  one  with  or  without 
a  title,  one  of  law  or  one  of  force,  and  came  to 
the  real  question  at  issue.  His  charge  against 
the  Neapolitan  Government  was  not  one  of  mere 
imperfection,  not  corruption  in  low  quarters, 
not  occasional  severity,  but  that  of  incessant, 
systematic,  deliberate  violation  of  the  law  by  the 
power  appointed  to  watch  over  and  maintain  it. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  with  impassionate  language, 
thus  formulates  his  fearful  indictment :  ^^  It  is 
such  violation  of  human  and  written  law  as  this, 
carried  on  for  the  purpose  of  violating  every 
other  law,  unwritten  and  eternal,  human  and 
divine  ;  it  is  the  wholesale  persecution  of  virtue, 
when  united  with  intelligence,  operating  upon 
such  a  scale  that  entire  classes  may  with  truth 
be  said  to  be  its  object,  so  that  the  Government 
is  in  bitter  and  cruel,  as  well  as  utterly  illegal 
hostility  to  whatever  in  the  nation  really  lives 
and  moves,  and  forms  the  mainspring  of  practi- 
cal progress  and  improvement ;  it  is  the  awful 
profanation  of  public  religion,  by  its  notorious 
alliance  in  the  governing  powers  with  the  viola- 
tion of  every  moral  rule  under  the  stimulants  of 
fear  and  vengeance  ;  it  is  the  perfect  prostitutic»3 


27%  William  E.  Gladstone 

of  the  judicial  office  whicli  lias  made  it,  under 
veils  only  too  threadbare  and  transparent,  the 
degraded  recipient  of  the  vilest  and  clumsiest 
forgeries,  got  up  wilfully  and  deliberately,  by 
the  immediate  advisers  of  the  Crown,  for  the 
purpose  of  destroying  the  peace,  the  freedom, 
aye,  and  even,  if  not  by  capital  sentences,  the 
life  of  men  among  the  most  virtuous,  upright, 
intelligent,  distinguished  and  refined  of  the 
whole  community  ;  it  is  the  savage  and  cowardly 
system  of  moral  as  well  as  in  a  lower  degree  of 
physical  torture,  through  which  the  sentences 
obtained  from  the  debased  courts  of  justice  are 
carried  into  effect. 

"  The  effect  of  all  this  is  a  total  inversion 
of  all  the  moral  and  social  ideas.  Law,  instead 
of  being  respected,  is  odious.  Force  and  not 
affection  is  the  foundation  of  government. 
There  is  no  association,  but  a  violent  antagonism 
between  the  idea  of  freedom  and  that  of  order. 
The  governing  power,  which  teaches  of  itself 
that  it  is  the  image  of  God  upon  earth,  is 
clothed  in  the  view  of  the  overwhelming  major- 
ity of  the  thinking  public  with  all  the  vices  for 
its  attributes.  I  have  seen  and  heard  the  strong 
expression  used,  'This  is  the  negation  of  God 
erected  into  a  system  of  Government.'  ■' 

It  was  not  merely  the  large  numbers 
imprisoned  unjustly,  to  which  public  atten- 
tion   was    directed,    that    called    for    righteous 


The  Neapolitan  Prisons  279 

indignation  and  made  Mr.  Gladstone's  words 
create  sncH  a  sensation  in  Europe,  but  the 
mode  of  procedure  was  arbitrary  in  tbe  extreme. 
The  law  of  Naples  required  that  personal  liberty 
should  be  inviolable,  except  under  warrant  from 
a  court  of  justice.  Yet  in  utter  disregard  of 
this  law  the  authorities  watched  the  people,  paid 
domiciliary  visits,  ransacked  houses,  seized 
papers  and  effects,  and  tore  up  floors  at  pleasure 
under  pretense  of  searching  for  arms,  imprisoned 
men  by  the  score,  by  the  hundred,  by  the  thou- 
sand without  any  warrant  whatever,  sometimes 
without  even  any  written  authority  whatever,  or 
anything  beyond  the  word  of  a  policeman,  con- 
stantly without  any  statement  whatever  of  the 
nature  of  the  offense.  Charges  were  fabricated 
to  get  rid  of  inconvenient  persons.  Perjury  and 
forgery  were  resorted  to  in  order  to  establish 
charges,  and  the  whole  mode  of  conducting  trials 
was  a  burlesque  of  justice. 

He  thus  describes  the  dungeons  of  Naples, 
in  which  some  of  the  prisoners  were  confined  for 
their  political  opinions :  "  The  prisons  of 
Naples,  as  is  well  known,  are  another  name 
for  the  extreme  of  filth  and  horror.  I  have  really 
seen  something  of  them,  but  not  the  worst. 
This  I  have  seen,  my  Lord :  the  ofiicial  doctors 
not  going  to  the  sick  prisoners,  but  the  sick 
prisoners,  men  almost  with  death  on  their  faces, 
toiling  up  stairs  to  them  at  that  charnel-house  of 


28o  William  E.  Gladstone 

tlie  Vicaria,  because  tHe  lower  regions  of  such  a 
palace  of  darkness  are  too  foul  and  loathsome  to 
allow  it  to  be  expected  that  professional  men 
should  consent  to  earn  bread  by  entering  them." 
Of  some  of  those  sufferers  Mr.  Gladstone  speaks 
particularly.  He  names  Pironte,  formerly  a 
judge,  Baron  Porcari,  and  Carlo  Poerio,  a  distin- 
guished patriot.  The  latter  he  specially  speaks 
of  as  a  refined  and  accomplished  gentleman,  a 
copious  and  elegant  speaker,  a  respected  and 
blameless  character,  yet  he  had  been  arrested  and 
condemned  for  treason.  Mr.  Gladstone  says: 
"  The  condemnation  of  such  a  man  for  treason  is 
a  proceeding  just  as  conformable  to  the  laws  of 
truth,  justice,  decency,  and  fair  play,  and  to  the 
common  sense  of  the  community — in  fact,  just 
as  great  and  gross  an  outrage  on  them  all — as 
would  be  a  like  condemnation  in  this  country  of 
au}'-  of  our  best  known  public  men — Lord  John 
Russell,  or  Lord  Lansdowne,  or  Sir  James 
Graham,  or  yourself." 

There  was  no  name  dearer  to  Englishmen 
than  that  of  Poerio  to  his  Neapolitan  fellow- 
countrymen.  Poerio  was  tried  and  condemned 
on  the  sole  accusation  of  a  worthless  character 
named  Jerrolino.  He  would  have  been  acquitted 
nevertheless,  by  a  division  of  four  to  five  of  his 
judges,  had  not  Navarro  (who  sat  as  a  judge 
while  directly  concerned  in  the  charge  against  the 
prisoner),  by  the   distinct  use  of  intimidation, 


The  Neapolitan  Prisons  281 

procured  the  number  necessary  for  a  sentence. 
A  statement  is  furnislied  on  the  authority  of  an 
eye-witness,  as  to  the  inhumanity  with  which 
invalid  prisoners  were  treated  by  the  Grand 
Criminal  Court  of  Naples;  and  Mr.  Gladstone 
minutely  describes  the  manner  of  the  impris- 
onment of  Poerio  and  six  of  his  incarcerated 
associates.  Each  prisoner  bore  a  weight  of  chain 
amounting  to  thirty-two  pounds  and  for  no  pur- 
pose whatever  were  these  chains  undone.  All 
the  prisoners  were  confined,  night  and  day,  in  a 
small  room,  which  may  be  described  as  amongst 
the  closest  of  dungeons  ;  but  Poerio  was  after 
this  condemned  to  a  still  lower  depth  of  calamity 
and  suffering.  "Never  before  have  I  con- 
versed," says  Mr.  Gladstone,  speaking  of  Poerio, 
"and  never  probably  shall  I  converse  again, 
with  a  cultivated  and  accomplished  gentleman, 
of  whose  innocence,  obedience  to  law,  and  love 
of  his  country,  I  was  as  firmly  and  as  rationally 
assured  as  your  lordship's  or  that  of  any  other 
man  of  the  very  highest  character,  whilst  he 
stood  before  me,  amidst  surrounding  felons,  and 
clad  in  the  vile  uniform  of  guilt  and  shame." 
But  he  is  now  gone  where  he  will  scarcely  have 
the  opportunity  even  of  such  conversation.  I 
cannot  honestly  suppress  my  conviction  that 
the  object  in  the  case  of  Poerio,  as  a  man  of 
mental  power  sufficient  to  be  feared,  is  to  obtain 
the  scaffold's  aim  by  means   more  cruel  than 


282  William  E.  Gladstone 

the  scaffold,  and  without  the  outcry  which  the 
scaffold  would  create." 

Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  it  was  time  for  the 
vreil  to  be  lifted  from  scenes  more  fit  for  hell 
than  earth,  or  that  some  considerable  mitigation 
should  be  voluntarily  adopted.  This  letter  was 
published  in  1851 — the  year  of  the  great  Expo- 
sition in  London — and  a  copy  was  sent  to  the 
representative  of  the  Queen  in  every  court  of 
Europe.  Its  publication  caused  a  wide-spread 
indignation  in  England,  a  great  sensation 
abroad,  and  profoundly  agitated  the  court 
of  Naples. 

In  the  English  Parliament  Sir  De  Lacy 
Evans  put  the  following  question  to  the  Foreign 
Secretary :  ''If  the  British  Minister  at  the 
court  of  Naples  had  been  instructed  to  employ 
his  good  offices  in  the  cause  of  humanity,  for 
the  diminution  of  these  lamentable  severities, 
and  with  what  result  ?  "  In  reply  to  this  ques- 
tion Lord  Palmerston  accepted  and  adopted 
Mr.  Gladstone's  statement,  which  had  been 
confirmed  from  other  quarters,  expressing  keen 
sympathy  and  humanitarian  feeling  with  the 
cause  which  he  had  espoused,  but  Lord  Palmers- 
ton  pointed  out  that  it  was  impossible  to  do 
anything  in  a  matter  which  related  entirely  to 
the  domestic  affairs  of  the  Government  at  Naples. 
He  said :  "  Instead  of  confining  himself  to  those 
amusements  that  abound  in  Naples,  instead  of 


The  Neapolitan  prisons  283 

diving  into  volcanoes,  and  exploring  excavated 
cities,  we  see  him  going  into  courts  of  justice, 
visiting  prisons,  descending  into  dungeons,  and 
examining  great  numbers  of  tlie  cases  of 
unfortunate  victims  of  illegality  and  injustice, 
with  the  view  afterwards  to  enlist  public  opinion 
in  the  endeavor  to  remedy  those  abuses."  This 
announcement  by  the  Foreign  Secretary  was 
warmly  applauded  by  the  House.  "  A  few  days 
afterwards  Lord  Palmerston  was  requested  by 
Prince  Castelcicala  to  forward  the  reply  of  the 
Neapolitan  Government  to  the  different  Euro- 
pean courts  to  which  Mr.  Gladstone's  pamphlet 
had  been  sent.  His  lordship,  with  his  wonted 
courage  and  independent  spirit,  replied  that  he 
^  must  decline  being  accessory  to  the  circulation 
of  a  pamphlet  which,  in  my  opinion,  does  no 
credit  to  its  writer,  or  the  Government  which  he 
defends,  or  to  the  political  party  of  which  he 
professes  to  be  the  champion.'  He  also  in- 
formed the  Prince  that  information  received  from 
other  sources  led  him  to  the  conclusion  that 
Mr.  Gladstone  had  by  no  means  overstated  the 
various  evils  which  he  had  described  ;  and  he 
[Lord  Palmerston]  regretted  that  the  Neapolitan 
Government  had  not  set  to  work  earnestly  and 
effectually  to  correct  the  manifold  and  grave 
abuses  which  clearly  existed/' 

The  second  paper  of  Mr.  Gladstone  upon 
the  same  subject  was  a  sequel  to  the  first.     His 


284  William  E.  Gladstone 

wish  was  tliat  everything  possible  should  be  done 
first  in  the  way  of  private  representation  and 
remonstrance,  and  lie  did  not  regret  the  course 
lie  bad  taken,  tbougb  it  entailed  devious  delays. 
In  answer  to  tbe  natural  inquiry  wby  be  should 
simply  appear  in  bis  personal  capacity  through 
the  press,  instead  of  inviting  to  the  grave  and 
painful  question  the  attention  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  be  said, 
that  he  had  advisedly  abstained  from  mixing  up 
his  statements  with  any  British  agency  or 
influences  which  were  ofiicial,  diplomatic,  or 
political.  The  claims  and  interests  which  he 
had  in  view  were  either  wholly  null  and  value- 
less, or  they  were  broad  as  the  extension  of  the 
human  race  and  long-lived  as  its  duration. 

As  to  his  general  charges  he  bad  nothing 
to  retract.  His  representations  had  not  been 
too  strongly  stated,  for  the  most  disgraceful 
circumstances  were  those  which  rested  upon 
public  notoriety,  or  upon  his  own  personal  knowl- 
edge. It  had  been  stated  that  he  had  overesti- 
mated the  number  of  prisoners,  and  he  would 
give  the  Neapolitan  Government  the  full  benefit 
of  any  correction.  But  the  number  of  political 
prisoners  in  itself^  was  a  secondary  feature 
of  the  case,  for  ''if  they  were  fairly  and  legally 
arrested,  fairly  and  legally  treated  before  trial — 
fairly  and  legally  tried,  that  was  the  main 
matter,"     For  the  honor  of  human  nature  men 


The  Neapolitan  Prisons  285 

would  at  first  receive  some  statements  v^itH  in- 
credulity. Men  ought  to  be  slow  lo  believe  vis  at 
such  things  could  happen,  and  happen  in  ^■ 
Christian  country,  the  seat  of  almost  the  oldest 
European  civilization."  But  those  thus  disposed 
in  the  begining  he  hoped  would  not  close  their 
minds  to  the  reception  of  the  truth,  however 
painful  to  believe.  The  general  probability  of  his 
statements  could  not,  unfortunately  be  gainsaid. 

Many  replies  were  made  to  Mr.  Gladstone's 
pamphlet  that  were  violent  and  abusive.  They 
appeared  not  only  in  Naples,  Turin,  and  Paris, 
but  even  in  London. 

All  these  answers,  were  in  truth  no  replies 
at  all,  for  they  did  not  disprove  the  facts. 
These  professed  corrections  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
statements  did  not  touch  the  real  basis  of  the 
question.  It  was  necessary  to  say  something  if 
possible  by  way  of  defense,  or  justice,  which  had 
as  yet  not  been  done. 

There  was  one  reply  that  was  put  forth  that 
Mr.  Gladstone  felt  demanded  some  attention, 
namely,  the  official  answer  of  the  Neapolitan 
Government  to  his  charges.  To  this  he  replied 
in  a  letter,  in  1852.  In  his  reply  he  placed,  point 
by  point,  the  answers  in  the  scales  along  with  his 
own  accusations.  There  was  in  the  Neapolitan 
answers  to  the  letters  really  a  tacit  admission  of 
the  accuracy  of  nine-tenths  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
statements.    Mr.  Gladstone  enumerated  the  few 


286  William  E.  Gladstone 

retractions  whicli  lie  liad  to  make,  which  were 
five  in  number.  That  the  prisoner,  Settembrine, 
had  not  been  tortured  and  confined  to  double 
chains  for  life,  as  was  currently  reported  and 
believed;  that  six  judges  had  been  dismissed 
at  Reggio  upon  presuming  to  acquit  a  batch  of 
political  prisoners,  required  modifying  to  three ; 
that  seventeen  invalids  had  not  been  massacred 
in  the  prison  of  Procida  during  a  revolt,  as  stated ; 
and  that  certain  prisoners  alleged  to  have  been 
still  incarcerated  after  acquittal  had  been  released 
after  the  lapse  of  two  days.  These  were  all  the 
modifications  he  had  to  make  in  his  previous 
statements.  And  as  to  the  long  list  of  his  grave 
accusations,  not  one  of  them  rested  upon  hearsay. 
He  pointed  out  how  small  and  insignificant  a 
fraction  of  error  had  found  its  way  into  his 
papers.  He  fearlessly  reasserted  that  agonizing 
corporal  punishment  was  inflicted  by  the  officials 
in  Neapolitan  prisons,  and  that  without  judicial 
authority.  As  to  Settembrine,  the  political 
prisoner  named,  he  was  incarcerated  in  a  small 
room  with  eight  other  prisoners,  one  of  whom 
boasted  that  he  had  murdered,  at  various  times, 
thirty-five  persons.  Several  of  his  victims  had 
been  his  prison  companions,  and  ^'the  murders 
of  this  Ergastolo  "  had  exceeded  iifty  in  a  single 
year.  It  was  true  that  at  the  massacre  at  Procida 
the  sick  had  not  been  slain  in  the  prisons,  yet 
prisoners  who  hid  under  beds  were  dragged  forth 


The  Neapolitan  Prisons  287 

and  shot  In  cold  blood  by  the  soldiery  after 
order  had  been  restored.  The  work  of  slaughter 
had  been  twice  renewed,  and  two  oflScers  received 
promotion  or  honors  for  that  abominable  enormity. 

Mr.  Gladstone  found  in  the  reply  of  the 
Government  of  Naples  no  reason  to  retract  his 
damaging  statements  in  reference  to  Neapolitan 
inhumanity,  on  the  other  hand  he  discovered 
grounds  for  emphasizing  his  accusations.  And 
as  to  his  statement  regarding  the  number  of 
the  sufferers  from  Neapolitan  injustice  and 
cruelty,  he  defended  at  length  his  statement  as 
to  the  enormous  number  of  the  prisoners. 

It  was  clear  to  all  candid  minds  that  all  the 
replies  had  failed  to  prove  him  wrong  in  any  of 
his  substantial  changes,  which  retained  their 
full  force.  "  The  arrow  has  shot  deep  into  the 
mark,"  observed  Mr.  Gladstone,  "  and  cannot  be 
dislodged.  But  I  have  sought,  in  once  more 
entering  the  field,  not  only  to  sum  up  the  state 
of  the  facts  in  the  manner  nearest  to  exactitude, 
but  likewise  to  close  the  case  as  I  began  it,  pre- 
senting it  from  first  to  last  in  the  light  of  a  mat- 
ter which  is  not  primarily  or  mainly  political, 
which  is  better  kept  apart  from  Parliamentary 
discussion,  which  has  no  connection  whatever  with 
any  peculiar  idea  or  separate  object  or  interest 
of  England,  but  which  appertains  to  the  sphere 
of  humanity  at  large,  and  well  deserves  the 
consideration  of  every  man  who  feels  a  concern 


288  William  E.  Gladstone 

for  the  well-being  of  his  race,  in  its  bearings  on 
that  well-being ;  on  the  elementary  demands 
of  individual  domestic  happiness  ;  on  the  perma- 
nent maintenance  of  public  order;  on  the 
stability  of  thrones ;  on  the  solution  of  that 
great  problem,  which,  day  and  night,  in  its 
innumerable  forms  must  haunt  the  reflections  of 
every  statesman,  both  here  and  elsewhere,  how 
to  harmonize  the  old  with  the  new  conditions  of 
society,  and  to  mitigate  the  increasing  stress  of 
time  and  change  upon  what  remains  of  this 
ancient  and  venerable  fabric  of  the  traditional 
civilization  of  Europe." 

Mr.  Gladstone  also  said,  that  the  question 
had  been  asked,  whether  a  government  ^'  could 
be  induced  to  change  its  policy,  because  some 
individual  or  other  had  by  lying  accusations 
held  it  up  to  the  hatred  of  mankind,"  yet  he  had 
the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  upon  the 
challenge  of  a  mere  individual,  the  government 
of  Naples  had  been  compelled  to  plead  before 
the  tribunal  of  general  opinion,  and  to  admit  the 
jurisdiction  of  that  tribunal.  It  was  to  public 
sentiment  that  the  Neapolitan  Government  was 
paying  deference  when  it  resolved  on  the  manly 
course  of  a  judicial  reply;  and  he  hoped  that 
further  deference  would  be  paid  to  that  public 
sentiment  in  the  complete  reform  of  its  depart- 
ments and  the  whole  future  management  of 
its  affairs. 


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The  Neapolitan  Prisons  391 

After  a  consideration  of  tlie  political 
position  of  the  throne  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  in 
connection  with  its  dominions  on  the  mainland, 
Mr.  Gladstone  thns  concluded  his  examination 
of  the  o£B.cial  reply  of  the  Neapolitan  Govern- 
ment :  "  These  pages  have  been  written  in  the 
hope  that,  by  thus  making,  through  the  press, 
rather  than  in  another  mode,  that  rejoinder  to 
the  Neapolitan  reply  which  was  doubtless  due 
from  me,  I  might  still,  as  far  as  depended  on 
me,  keep  the  question  on  its  true  ground,  as  one 
not  of  politics  but  of  morality,  and  not  of  England 
but  of  Christendom  and  of  mankind.  Again  I 
express  the  hope  that  this  may  be  my  closing 
word.  I  express  the  hope  that  it  may  not  be- 
come a  hard  necessity  to  keep  this  controversy 
alive  until  it  reaches  its  one  only  possible  issue, 
which  no  power  of  man  can  permanently  inter- 
cept. I  express  the  hope  that  while  there  is 
time,  while  there  is  quiet,  while  dignity  may  yet 
be  saved  in  showing  mercy,  and  in  the  blessed 
work  of  restoring  Justice  to  her  seat,  the  Gov- 
ernment of  Naples  may  set  its  hand  in  earnest  to 
the  workof  real  and  searching,  however  quiet  and 
unostentatious,  reform  ;  that  it  may  not  become 
unavoidable  to  reiterate  these  appeals  from  the 
hand  of  power  to  the  one  common  heart  of  man- 
kind; to  produce  these  painful  documents,  those 
harrowing  descriptions,  which  might  be  supplied 
in  rank  abundance,  of  which  I   have   scarcely 


202  William  E.  vji^iwDb^ONb 

given  the  faintest  idea  or  sketch,  ztnd  which,  if 
laid  from  time  to  time  before  the  world,  would 
bear  down  like  a  deluge  every  effort  at  apology  or 
palliation,  and  would  cause  all  that  has  recently 
been  made  known  to  be  forgotten  and  eclipsed  in 
deeper  horrors  yet ;  lest  the  strength  of  offended 
and  indignant  humanity  should  rise  up  as  a 
giant  refreshed  with  wine,  and,  while  sweeping 
away  these  abominations  from  the  eye  of  Heaven, 
should  sweep  away  along  with  them  things  pure 
and  honest,  ancient,  venerable,  salutary  to  man- 
kind, crowned  with  the  glories  of  the  past  and 
still  capable  of  bearing  future  fruit." 

The  original  purpose  of  these  letters,  though 
at  first  not  gained,  was  unmistakable  in  the 
subsequent  revolution  which  created  a  regen- 
erated, free  and  united  Italy.  The  moral  in- 
fluence of  such  an  exposure  was  incalculable  and 
eventually  irresistible.  The  great  Italian  patriot 
and  liberator  of  Italy,  General  Garibaldi,  was 
known  to  say  that  Mr.  Gladstone's  protest 
"  sounded  the  first  trumpet  call  of  Italian  liberty." 
If  France  and  England  had  unitedly  protested 
against  the  Neapolitan  abuse  of  power  and 
violation  of  law,  such  a  protest  would  have  been 
heard  and  redress  granted,  but  such  joint  action 
was  not  taken.  The  letters  reached  the  four- 
teenth edition  and  in  this  edition  Mr.  Gladstone 
said  that  by  a  royal  decree,  issued  December  27, 
1858,  ninety-one  political   prisoners   had   their 


The  Neapolitan  Prisons  293 

punishment  commuted  into  perpetual  exile  from 
the  kingdom  of  the  two  Sicilies,  but  that  a 
Ministerial  order  of  January  9,  1859,  directed 
that  they  should  be  conveyed  to  America  ;  that 
of  these  ninety-one  persons  no  less  than  fourteen 
had  died  long  before  in  dungeons,  and  that  only 
sixty-six  of  them  embarked  January  16,  1859, 
and  were  taken  to  Cadiz,  where  they  were 
shipped  on  board  an  American  sailing  vessel, 
which  was  to  have  carried  them  to  New  York, 
but  eventually  landed  them  at  Cork.  "  Eleven 
men  were  kept  behind,  either  because  it  was 
afterwards  thought  advisable  not  to  release  them, 
as  in  the  case  of  Longo  and  Delli  Franci,  two 
artillery  officers,  who  were  still  in  the  dungeons 
of  Gaeta.  Whenever  the  prisoners  were  too 
sick  to  be  moved,  as  was  the  case  with  Pironti, 
who  was  paralytic ;  or  because  they  were  in 
some  provincial  dungeons  too  remote  from 
Naples."  Such  was  the  fate  of  some  of  the 
patriots  officially  liberated  by  Ferdinand's  suc- 
cessor, Francis  II. 

The  charges  of  Mr.  Gladstone  against  the 
Neapolitan  Government  met  with  confirmation 
from  another  source  nearer  home.  In  1851 
Mr.  Gladstone  translated  and  published  Farini's 
important  and  bulky  work,  entitled,  ^'  The  Roman 
State,  from  1815  to  1850."  The  author,  Farini, 
addressed  a  note  to  his  translator,  in  which  he 


294  William  E.  Gladstone 

said  that  lie  Had  dedicated  the  concluding  vol- 
ume of  his  work  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  "who,  by  his 
love  of  Italian  letters,  and  by  his  deeds  of  Italian 
charity,  had  established  a  relationship  with 
Italy  in  the  spirit  of  those  great  Italian  writers 
who  had  been  their  masters  in  eloquence,  in 
civil  philosophy  and  in  national  virtue,  from 
Dante  and  Macchivelli  down  to  Alfieri  and 
Gioberti.  Signor  Farini  endorsed  the  charges 
made  by  Mr.  Gladstone  against  the  Neapolitan 
Government.  He  wrote:  "The  scandalous 
trials  for  high  treason  still  continue  at  Naples  ; 
accusers,  examiners,  judges,  false  witnesses,  all 
are  bought ;  the  prisons,  those  tombs  of  the 
living,  are  full ;  two  thousand  citizens  of  all 
ranks  and  conditions  are  already  condemned  to 
the  dungeons,  as  many  to  confinement,  double 
that  number  to  exile ;  the  majority  guilty  of  no 
crime  but  that  of  having  believed  in  the  oaths 
made  by  Ferdinand  II.  But,  in  truth,  nothing 
more  was  needed  to  press  home  the  indictment." 
At  the  period  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  visit  to 
Naples  there  was  a  growing  sentiment  through- 
out Italy  for  Italian  independence  and  union. 
The  infamous  measures  adopted  by  the  King  of 
Naples  to  repress  in  his  own  dominions  every 
aspiration  after  freedom,  only  succeeded  in 
making  the  people  more  determined  and  the 
liberty  for  which  they  sighed  surer  in  the  end. 
His  sytem  of  misgovernment  went  on  for  a  few 


The  Neapolitan  Prisons  295 

years  longer  and  was  the  promoting  cause  of 
the  revolutionary  movements  which  continually 
disturbed  the  whole  Italian  peninsula.  A 
conference  was  held  in  Paris  upon  the  Italian 
question,  which  failed  to  accomplish  anything, 
against  which  failure  Count  Cavour  addressed  a 
protest  to  the  French  and  British  Governments 
in  April,  1856.  Afterwards  the  King  of  Naples 
and  his  Ministers  were  remonstrated  with,  but 
this  was  of  no  avail,  only  drawing  forth  an 
assertion  that  the  sovereign  had  the  right  to 
deal  with  his  own  subjects  as  he  pleased.  France 
and  England  finally  withdrew  their  representa- 
tives from  Naples,  and  the  storm  soon  after- 
wards broke.  The  brilliant  success  of  Garibaldi 
in  i860  filled  Francis  II  with  terror.  He  was 
now,  like  all  evil  men,  ready  to  make  the  most 
lavish  promises  of  liberal  reform  to  escape  the 
consequences  of  his  misdeeds.  However,  his 
repentance  came  too  late.  The  victorious  Gari- 
baldi issued  a  decree  ultimately,  stating  that  the 
Two  Sicilies,  which  had  been  redeemed  by  Italian 
blood,  and  which  had  freely  elected  him  their 
dictator,  formed  an  integral  part  of  one  and 
indivisable  Italy,  under  the  constitutional  King 
Victor  Emmanuel  and  his  descendants.  Francis 
II  was  dethroned  and  expelled  from  his  kingdom 
by  the  legitimate  fruits  of  his  own  hateful  policy 
and  that  of  his  predecessor.  "  Count  Cavour 
was  the  brain  as  Garibaldi  was  the  hand  of  that 


296 


William  E.  Gladstone 


mighty  movement  wHicli  resulted  in  the  unity 
of  Italy,"  says  an  English  writer,  "but  as 
Englishmen  we  may  take  pride  in  the  fact  that 
not  the  least  among  the  precipitating  causes  of 
this  movement  was  the  fearless  exposure  by 
Mr.  Gladstone  of  the  cruelties  and  tyrannies  of 
the  Neapolitan  Government." 


Gladstone  Visiting  Neapolitan  Prisons. 


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CHAPl  ER  IX 
The  First  P^udget 

^^^HE  precise  date  at  which  Mr.  Gi^'iistonr 
^  J        became  a  Liberal  cannot  be  determined 
^^r  but  during  the  Parliamentary  sessions' 

of  185 1  and  1852  he  became  finalli 
alienated  from  the  Conservative  party, 
although  he  did  not  enter  the  ranks  of  the 
Liberals  for  some  years  afterward.  He  himself 
stated  that  so  late  as  1 85 1  he  had  not  formally 
left  the  Tory  party,  nevertheless  his  advance 
towards  Liberalism  is  very  pronounced  at  thi? 
period.  It  is  well  for  us  to  trace  the  important 
events  of  these  two  sessions,  for  they  also  lead  up 
to  the  brilliant  financial  measures  of  1853,  which 
caused  Mr.  Gladstone's  name  to  be  classed  with 
those  of  Pitt  and  Peel.  Mr  Gladstone's  trusted 
leader  was  dead,  and  he  was  gradually  coming 
forward  to  take  the  place  in  debate  of  the  fallen 
statesman. 

When  Mr.  Gladstone  returned  home  from 
Italy  he  found  England  convulsed  over  renewed 


298     •  William  E.  Gladstone 

papal  aggressions.  The  Pope  had,  in  the  pre- 
ceding September,  issued  Letters  Apostolic, 
establishing  a  Roman  Catholic  Hierarchy  in 
England,  and  in  which  he  had  mapped  out  the 
whole  country  into  papal  dioceses.  This  act  of 
aggression  produced  a  storm  of  public  indignation. 
It  was  regarded  by  the  people  generally  as  an 
attempt  to  wrest  from  them  their  liberties  and 
enslave  them.  It  was  looked  upon  by  the  Protes- 
tants indignantly  as  an  attack  upon  the  Reformed 
Faith.  Anglicans  resented  it  as  an  act  which 
practically  denied  the  jurisdiction  and  authority 
of  the  Church  of  England,  established  already 
by  law.  Englishmen,  faithfully  devoted  to  the 
British  Constitution,  which  guaranteed  the 
Protestant  Religion,  were  incensed  by  this  inter- 
ference with  the  prerogative  of  the  Crown  ;  while 
all  ardent  patriots  were  influenced  by  the  un- 
warranted and  unsolicited  interference  of  a  for- 
eign potentate.  Every  element  of  combustion 
being  present,  meetings  were  held  everywhere, 
inflammatory  speeches  were  made  on  every 
public  occasion,  and  patriotic  resolutions  were 
passed.  Pulpit  and  platform  rang  with  repeated 
cries  of  "No  Popery,"  and  echoed  at 'the  Lord 
Mayor's  banquet,  at  the  Guildhall,  and  even  at 
Covent  Garden  Theatre  in  Shakesperian  strains. 
The  Prime  Minister,  Lord  John  Russell,  pub- 
lished his  famous  Durham  letter,  addressed  to 
the  Bishop   of  Durham,  rebuking  and   defying 


The  First  Budget  299 

the  Pope,  and  charging  the  whole  High  Church 
Party  of  the  Church  of  England  with  being  the 
secret  allies  and  fellow-workers  of  Rome. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  Parliamentary  session 
of  185 1  Lord  John  Russell  moved  for  permission 
to  bring  in  a  bill  to  counteract  the  aggressive 
policy  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  on  account  of 
which  aggression  of  the  Pope  the  whole  country 
was  well-nigh  in  a  condition  of  panic.  The 
measure  was  debated  for  four  days,  and  was 
entitled  the  Ecclesiastical  Faiths  Bill.  It  was 
designed  to  prevent  the  assumption  by  Roman 
Catholic  prelates  of  titles  taken  from  any  territory 
or  place  in  England.  Severe  penalties  were 
attached  to  the  use  of  such  titles,  and  all  acts 
done  by,  and  requests  made  to,  persons  under 
them  were  to  be  void.  The  bill  was  not  well 
received  by  some,  being  thought,  on  one  side  too 
mild  and  on  the  other  as  too  stringent.  Mr. 
Disraeli  and  Mr.  Gladstone  both  opposed  it ;  the 
latter  because  the  change  was  wanted  by  English 
Catholics  rather  than  by  the  Vatican.  He  con- 
demned the  vanity  and  boastful  spirit  of  the 
papal  documents,  but  contended  that  his  fellow 
Catholic  countrymen  should  not  suffer  for  that. 
The  difficulty  of  applying  it  to  Ireland,  where  the 
system  objected  to  already  existed,  was  pointed 
out.  However  the  preliminary  motion  was 
passed  by  395  votes  against  63,  "this  enormous 
jnajority,"  says  an  English  author, "attesting  the 


"^oo  William  E.  Gladstone 

wide-spread  fear  of  Romish  machinations."  The 
measure  became  a  law,  but  it  was  a  dead  letter, 
and  was  quietly  repealed  twenty  years  afterwards 
at  Mr.  Gladstone's  request. 

Before,  however,  the  bill  was  passed  a  minis- 
terial crisis  had  intervened.  During  this  session 
other  difficulties  were  encountered  by  the  Minis- 
try. The  financial  as  well  as  this  ecclesiastical 
question  was  a  problem.  The  Conservatives 
were  strong  and  compact,  and  enjoyed  the  adhe- 
sion of  the  Peelites,  while  the  Ministerial  party 
was  to  a  great  extent  demoralized,  Mr.  Disraeli, 
owing  to  the  deep  distress  that  prevailed  in  the 
agricultural  districts,  renewed  his  motion  upon 
the  burdens  on  land  and  the  inequalities  of  tax- 
ation, and  consequently  he  presented  a  resolution 
that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  government  to  intro- 
duce measures  for  the  alleviation  of  the  distress 
without  delay.  The  government  admitted  the 
distress,  but  denied  that  it  was  increasing.  They 
attempted  to  prove  that  pauperism  had  decreased 
in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom — England,  Ireland 
and  Scotland.  Commerce  was  in  a  most  prosper- 
ous condition,  while  the  revenues  had  reached 
the  unexampled  amount  of  $350,000,000.  "Sir 
James  Graham  stigmatized  the  motion  as  an 
attempt  to  turn  out  the  administration,  to  dissolve 
Parliament,  and  to  return  to  Protection."  The 
Ministry  was  sustained  by  a  small  majority, 
and  was  successful  lu  some  measures,  but  soo^ 


The  First  Budget  301 

suffered  several  minor  defeats  and  finally  was 
forced  to  retire. 

One  of  tHe  successful  measures  was  tHat 
introduced  by  Mr.  LocHe  King,  and  opposed  by 
Lord  John  Russell,  for  assimilating  the  country 
francbise  to  tbat  of  the  borougbs.  The  budget 
of  the  government  introduced  January  lytb  was 
unpopular.  It  demanded  a  renewed  lease  for 
three  years  of  the  obnoxious  income-tax,  but 
promised  a  partial  remission  of  the  window  duties, 
which  was  a  tax  upon  every  window  in  a  house, 
together  with  some  relief  to  the  agriculturists. 
The  first  budget  having  been  rejected  a  second 
financial  statement  was  offered  later  in  the  ses- 
sion. It  imposed  a  house-tax,  withdrew  the 
bonus  to  agriculturists,  repealed  the  window-tax, 
but  re-demanded  the  income-tax  for  three  years. 
The  main  features  of  the  budget  were  acceptable 
to  the  House,  but  the  Government  suffered  defeat 
on  minor  financial  questions,  which  tendered  still 
further  to  diminish  the  popularity  of  the  ministry. 

Upon  the  resignation  of  Lord  John  Russell, 
and  his  Cabinet,  in  February,  1851,  Lord  Stanley 
was  called  upon  to  form  a  new  administration, 
and  Mr.  Gladstone  was  invited  to  become  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Cabinet.  Lord  Stanley  having  failed, 
Lord  Aberdeen  was  invited  to  form  a  new  Cabinet, 
by  the  Queen,  with  like  results.  Both  these 
gentlemen  having  declined  the  task  of  forming  a 
new  administration,  Lord  John  Russell  and  his 


302  William  E.  Gladstone 

colleagues  resumed  office,  but  tlie  reconstructed 
ministry  was  soon  to  receive  a  fatal  blow  through 
Lord  Palmerston,  the  foreign  Secretary. 

On  the  2d  of  December,  1851,  Louis  Napo- 
leon, Prince  President  of  the  French  Republic, 
by  a  single  act  of  lawless  violence,  abolished  the 
constitution,  and  made  himself  Dictator.  The 
details  of  this  monstrous  deed,  and  of  the  blood- 
shed that  accompanied  it,  created  a  profound 
sensation  in  England.  The  Queen  was  very 
anxious  that  no  step  should  be  taken  and  no 
word  said  by  her  ministry  which  could  be  con- 
strued into  an  approval  by  the  English  govern- 
ment of  what  had  been  done.  Indeed  the  Queen 
who  knew  the  failing  of  her  Foreign  Secretary 
to  act  hastily  in  important  matters  of  State  with- 
out the  consent  or  advice  of  Queen  or  Cabinet, 
questioned  the  Premier  and  was  assured  that 
nothing  had  been  done  in  recognition  of  the  new 
government  in  Paris.  Indeed  the  Cabinet  had 
passed  a  resolution  to  abstain  from  the  expres- 
sion of  opinions  in  approval  or  disapproval  of  the 
recent  coup  d^etat  in  France.  But  it  soon  leaked 
out  that  Lord  Palmerston  who  thought  he  under- 
stood full  well  the  foreign  relations  of  England, 
and  what  her  policy  should  be,  had  both  in  public 
dispatches  and  private  conversation  spoken  favor- 
ably of  the  policy  adopted  by  Louis  Napoleon. 
He  had  even  expressed  to  Count  Walewski, 
the  French  Ambassador  in  LondoUj  liis  entire 


The  First  Budget  303 

approval  of  the  Prince  President's  act.  This  was 
too  much  for  the  Queen,  who  had  as  early  as  the 
August  before,  in  a  memorandum  sent  to  the 
Premier,  imperatively  protested  against  the  crown's 
being  ignored  by  the  Foreign  Secretary,  so  Lord 
Palmerston  was  dismissed  from  office  by  Lord 
John  Russell,  Christmas  Eve,  185 1.  He  bore 
his  discharge  with  meekness,  and  even  omitted  in 
Parliament  to  defend  himself  in  points  where  he 
was  wronged.  But  Justin  McCarthy  says : 
"  Lord  Palmerston  was  in  the  wrong  in  many  if 
not  most  of  the  controversies  which  had  preceded 
it ;  that  is  to  say,  he  was  wrong  in  committing 
England  as  he  so  often  did  to  measures  which 
had  not  the  approval  of  the  sovereign  or  his 
colleagues." 

In  February  following,  1852,  Lord  Palmers- 
ton enjoyed,  as  he  expressed  it,  his  "  tit-for-tat 
with  Johnny  Russell  "  and  helped  the  Tories  to 
defeat  his  late  chief  in  a  measure  for  reorganizing 
the  militia  as  a  precaution  against  possible  aggres- 
sion from  France.  The  ministry  had  not  saved 
itself  by  the  overthrow  of  Lord  Palmerston. 

Upon  the  retirement  of  Lord  John  Russell 
from  office,  in  1852,  the  Earl  of  Derby,  formerly 
Lord  Stanley,  succeded  him  as  Prime  Minister. 
Mr.  Gladstone  was  invited  to  become  a  member  of 
the  new  Tory  Cabinet,  but  declined,  whereupon 
Lord  Malmesbury  dubiously  remarked,  Novem- 
ber 28th  :  "I   cannot  make  out  Gladstone,  who 


304  William  E.  Gladstone 

seems  to  me  a  dark  Horse.''  Mr  Disraeli  was 
chosen  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and  became 
Leader  in  the  House  of  Commons,  entering  the 
Cabinet  for  the  first  time.  "  There  was  a  scarcely 
disguised  intention  to  revive  protection."  It  was 
Free  Trade  or  Protection,  and  the  Peelites  de- 
fended their  fallen  leader.  Peel.  "A  makeshift 
budget "  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Disraeli  and 
passed.  It  was  destined,  it  seems,  that  the  Derby 
Administration  was  not  to  be  supported,  but  to  be 
driven  out  of  power  by  Mr.  Gladstone,  who  was 
to  cross  swords  before  the  nation  with  his  future 
parliamentary  rival,  Disraeli. 

Mr.  Disraeli  seemed  now  bent  upon  declar- 
ing the  Free  Trade  Policy  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  a 
failure.  Mr.  Disraeli's  power  of  forgetfulness  of 
the  past  is  one  of  the  most  fortunate  ever  con- 
ferred upon  a  statesman.  During  the  debate  he 
declared  that  the  main  reason  why  his  party  had 
opposed  Free  Trade  was  not  that  it  would  injure 
the  landlord,  nor  the  farmer,  but  that  "it  would 
prove  injurious  to  the  cause  of  labor."  "  He  also 
said,  though  interrupted  by  cries  of  astonishment 
and  of  '  Oh,  oh ! '  that  not  a  single  attempt  had 
been  made  in  the  House  of  Commons  to  abrogate 
the  measure  of  1846."  Mr.  Sidney  Herbert,  who 
was  wounded  to  the  quick  by  the  assaults  on  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  rose  to  defend  the  great  Conservative 
statesman.  His  speech  contained  one  passage 
of  scathing  invective  addressed  to  Mr.  Disraeli. 


The  First  Budget  305 

Mr.  Herbert  said :  "  The  memory  of  Sir  Robert 
Peel  requires  no  vindication — his  memory  is  em- 
balmed in  the  grateful  recollection  of  the  people 
of  this  country;  and  I  say,  if  ever  retribution  is 
wanted — for  it  is  not  words  that  humiliate,  but 
deeds — if  a  man  wants  to  see  humiliation,  which 
God  knows  is  always  a  painful  sight,  he  need  but 
look  there! " — and  upon  this  Mr.  Herbert  pointed 
with  his  finger  to  Mr.  Disraeli  sitting  on  the 
Treasury  Bench.  The  sting  of  invective  is  truth, 
and  Mr.  Herbert  certainly  spoke  daggers  if  he 
used  none ;  yet  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
sat  impassive  as  a  Sphinx. 

Parliament  was  dissolved  soon  after  the 
formation  of  the  new  government,  July  i,  1852, 
and  during  the  recess,  September  14,  1852,  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  passed  away  and  a  public 
funeral  was  given  the  victor  of  Waterloo. 

On  the  assembling  of  Parliament  Mr.  Glad- 
stone delivered  a  eulogy  on  the  Duke,  drawing 
special  lessons  from  his  illustrious  career,  which 
had  been  prolonged  to  a  green  old  age.  Mr. 
Gladstone  said:  "While  many  of  the  actions  of 
his  life,  while  many  of  the  qualities  he  possessed, 
are  unattainable  by  others,  there  are  lessons 
which  we  may  all  derive  from  the  life  and  actions 
of  that  illustrious  man.  It  may  never  be  given 
to  another  subject  of  the  British  Crown  to  per- 
form services  so  brilliant  as  he  performed ;  it  may 
never  be  given  to  another  man  to  hold  the  sword 


y.6  WILLIAM   £.   GLADSTONE 

wHich  was  to  gain  tlie  independence  of  Europe, 
to  rally  the  nations  around  it,  and  while  England 
saved  herself  by  her  constancy,  to  save  Europe 
by  her  example  ;  it  may  never  be  given  to  another 
man,  after  having  attained  such  eminence,  after 
such  an  unexampled  series  of  victories,  to  show 
equal  moderation  in  peace  as  he  has  shown  great- 
ness in  war,  and  to  devote  the  remainder  of  his  life 
to  the  cause  of  internal  and  external  peace  for 
that  country  which  he  has  so  well  served;  it  may 
never  be  given  to  another  man  to  have  equal 
authority,  both  with  the  Sovereign  he  served  and 
with  the  Senate  of  which  he  was  to  the  end  a 
venerated  member;  it  may  never  be  given  to 
another  man  after  such  a  career  to  preserve,  even 
to  the  last,  the  full  possession  of  those  great 
faculties  with  which  he  was  endowed,  and  to 
carry  on  the  services  of  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant departments  of  the  State  with  unexampled 
regularity  and  success,  even  to  the  latest  day  of 
his  life.  These  are  circumstances,  these  are 
qualities,  which  may  never  occur  again  in  the 
history  of  this  country.  But  these  are  qualities 
which  the  Duke  of  Wellington  displayed,  of 
which  we  may  all  act  in  humble  imitation :  that 
sincere  and  unceasing  devotion  to  our  country ; 
that  honest  and  upright  determination  to  act  for 
the  benefit  of  the  country  on  every  occasion ;  that 
devoted  loyalty,  which,  while  it  made  him  ever 
anxious  to  serve  the  Crown,  never  induced  him 


The  First  Budget  309 

to  conceal  from  the  Sovereign  that  which  he 
believed  to  be  the  truth ;  that  devotedness  in  the 
constant  performance  of  duty;  that  temperance 
of  his  life,  which  enabled  him  at  all  times  to  give 
his  mind  and  his  faculties  to  the  services  which 
he  was  called  on  to  perform ;  that  regular,  con- 
sistent, and  unceasing  piety  by  which  he  was 
distinguished  at  all  times  of  his  life ;  these  are 
qualities  that  are  attainable  by  others,  and  these 
are  qualities  which  should  not  be  lost  as  an 
example." 

At  this  session  of  Parliament  Mr.  Disraeli 
brought  forward  his  second  budget  in  a  five  hour 
speech.  The  new  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
proposed  to  remit  a  portion  of  the  taxes  upon 
malt,  tea,  and  sugar,  but  to  counterbalance  these 
losses  he  also  proposed  to  extend  the  income-tax 
and  house-tax.  The  debate,  which  was  very 
personal,  was  prolonged  several  days,  and  Mr. 
Disraeli,  towards  it  close,  bitterly  attacked  several 
members,  among  them  Sir  James  Graham,  whom 
Mr.  Gladstone  not  only  defended,  but  in  so  doing 
administered  a  scathing  rebuke  to  the  Chancellor 
for  his  bitter  invective  and  personal  abuse.  Mr. 
Gladstone's  speech  at  the  close  of  Mr,  Disraeli's 
presentation  was  crushing,  and  was  generally 
regarded  as  giving  the  death-blow  to  this  finan- 
cial scheme. 

Mr  Gladstone  told  Mr.  Disraeli  that  he  was 
not  entitled  to  charge  with  insolence  men  of  .as 


310  William  E.  Gladstone 

high  position  and  of  as  high  character  in  the 
House  as  himself,  and  when  the  cheers  which 
had  interrupted  him  had  subsided,  concluded :  "I 
must  tell  the  right  honorable  gentleman  that  he 
is  not  entitled  to  say  to  my  right  honorable  friend, 
the  member  for  Carlisle,  that  he  regards  but  does 
not  respect  him.  And  I  must  tell  him  that 
whatever  else  he  has  learnt — and  he  has  learnt 
much — he  has  not  learnt  to  keep  within  those 
limits  of  discretion,  of  moderation,  and  of  forbear- 
ance that  ought  to  restrain  the  conduct  and 
language  of  every  member  in  this  House,  the 
disregard  of  which,  while  it  is  an  offence  in 
the  meanest  amongst  us,  is  an  offence  of  ten- 
fold weight  when  committed  by  the  leader  of  the 
House  of  Commons." 

The  thrilling  scene  enacted  in  the  House  of 
Commons  on  that  memorable  night  is  thus 
described :  ^'  In  the  following  month  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  produced  his  second 
budget.  It  was  an  ambitious  and  a  skillful  attempt 
to  reconcile  conflicting  interests,  and  to  please  all 
while  offending  none.  The  government  had 
come  into  office  pledged  to  do  something  for  the 
relief  of  the  agricultural  interests.  They  redeemed 
their  pledge  by  reducing  the  duty  on  malt.  This 
reduction  created  a  deficit ;  and  they  repaired  the 
deficit  by  doubling  the  duty  on  inhabited  houses. 
Unluckily,  the  agricultural  interests  proved,  as 
usualj  ungrateful   to  its   benefactors,  and  made 


The  First  Budget  311 

light  of  the  reduction  on  malt ;  while  those  who 
were  to  pay  for  it  in  double  taxation  were  natur- 
ally indignant.  The  voices  of  criticism,  *  angry, 
loud,  discordant  voices,'  were  heard  simultaneously 
on  every  side.  The  debate  waxed  fast  and  furious. 
In  defending  his  hopeless  proposals,  Mr,  Disraeli 
gave  full  scope  to  his  most  characteristic  gift; 
he  pelted  his  opponents  right  and  left  with  sar- 
casms, taunts,  and  epigrams,  and  went  as  near 
personal  insult  as  the  forms  of  Parliament  permit. 
He  sat  down  late  at  night,  and  Mr.  Gladstone 
rose  in  a  crowded  and  excited  House  to  deliver  an 
unpremeditated  reply  which  has  ever  since  been 
celebrated.  Even  the  cold  and  colorless  pages  of 
'  Hansard '  show  signs  of  the  excitement  under 
which  he  labored,  and  of  the  tumultuous  applause 
and  dissent  by  which  his  opening  sentences  were 
interrupted.  ^  The  speech  of  the  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer,'  he  said,  ^  must  be  answered  on  the 
moment.  It  must  be  tried  by  the  laws  of  decency 
and  propriety.'  "  He  indignantly  rebuked  his 
rival's  language  and  demeanor.  He  reminded 
him  of  the  discretion  and  decorum  due  from  every 
member,  but  pre-eminently  due  from  the  leader  of 
the  House.  He  tore  his  financial  scheme  to 
ribbons.  It  was  the  beginning  of  a  duel  which 
lasted  till  death  removed  one  of  the  combatants 
from  the  political  arena.  ^  Those  who  had  thought 
it  impossible  that  any  impression  could  be  made 
upon  the  House  after  the  speech  of  Mr.  Disraeli 


312  William  E.  Gladstone 

had  to  acknowledge  that  a  yet  greater  impression 
was  produced  by  the  unprepared  reply  of  Mr. 
Gladstone.'  The  House  divided  and  the  govern- 
ment were  left  in  a  minority  of  nineteen.  This 
happened  in  the  early  morning  of  December  17, 
1852.  Within  an  hour  of  the  division  Lord 
Derby  wrote  to  the  Queen  a  letter  announcing 
his  defeat  and  the  consequences  which  it  must 
entail,  and  that  evening  at  Osborne  he  placed  his 
formal  resignation  in  her  majesty's  hands." 

It  is  related  as  an  evidence  of  the  intense 
excitement,  if  not  frenzy,  that  prevailed  at  the 
time,  that  Mr.  Gladstone  met  with  indignity  at 
his  Club.  Greville,  in  his  "  Memoirs,"  says  that, 
"  twenty  ruffians  of  the  Carleton  Club"  had  given 
a  dinner  to  Major  Beresford,  who  had  been 
charged  with  bribery  at  the  Derby  election  and 
had  escaped  with  only  a  censure,  and  that  "after 
dinner,  when  they  were  drunk,  they  went  up 
stairs  and  finding  Mr.  Gladstone  alone  in  the 
drawing-room,  some  of  them  proposed  to  throw 
him  out  of  the  window.  This  they  did  not  quite 
dare  to  do,  but  contented  themselves  with  giving 
some  insulting  message  or  order  to  the  waiter 
and  then  went  away."  Mr.  Gladstone,  however, 
remained  a  member  of  the  Club  until  he  joined 
the  Whig  administration  in  1859. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  crushing  expose  of  the 
blunders  of  Mr.  Disraeli's  budget  was  almost 
ludicrous     in    its     completeness,    and     it    was 


The  First  Budget  313 

universally  felt  that  the  scheme  could  not  sur- 
vive his  brilliant  attack.  The  effect  that  the 
merciless  criticism  of  Disraeli's  budget  was  not 
only  the  discomfiture  of  Mr.  Disraeli  and  the 
overthrow  of  the  Russell  administration,  but  the 
elevation  of  Mr.  Gladstone  to  the  place  vacated 
by  Chancellor  Disraeli. 

The  Earl  of  Aberdeen  became  Prime  Min- 
ister. The  new  government  was  a  coalition  of 
Whigs  and  Peelites,  with  a  representative  of  the 
Radicals  in  the  person  of  Sir  William  Moles  worth, 
Mr.  Gladstone,  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  Sir  James 
Graham  and  Mr.  Sidney  Herbert  were  the  Peel- 
ites in  the  Cabinet.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  chosen 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer. 

We  may  refer  here  to  a  letter  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, written  Christmas,  1851,  in  order  to  show 
his  growing  Liberalism.  The  letter  was  to 
Dr.  Skinner,  Bishop  of  Aberdeen  and  Primus,  on 
the  positions  and  functions  of  the  laity  in  the 
Church.  This  lettter  is  remarkable,  because,  as 
Dr.  Charles  Wordsworth,  Bishop  of  St.  Andrew's, 
said  at  the  time,  "  it  contained  the  germ  of 
liberation  and  the  political  equality  of  all  re- 
ligions." The  Bishop  published  a  controversial 
rejoinder,  which  drew  from  Dr.  Gaisford,  Dean  of 
Christ  Church,  these  emphatic  words :  "  You 
have  proved  to  my  satisfaction  that  this  gentle- 
man is  unfit  to  represent  the  University,"  mean- 
ing the  representation  for  Oxford  in  Parliament. 


^t4  William  E.  Gladstone 

This  feeling  was  growing,  for  when  the 
Russell  Ministry  fell  and  it  became  necessary  for 
Mr.  Gladstone,  because  he  accepted  a  place  in 
the  Cabinet,  to  appeal  for  re-election  to  his  con- 
stituents at  Oxford,  he  met  with  much  opposition, 
because  of  his  Liberalism.  Appealing  to  his 
university  to  return  him,  and  endorse  his  accept- 
ance of  office  in  the  new  Ministry  of  the  Earl  of 
Aberdeen,  Mr.  Gladstone  soon  discovered  that  he 
had  made  many  enemies  by  his  manifest  ten- 
dencies toward  Liberal-Conservatism.  He  had 
given  unmistakable  evidence  that  he  held  less 
^rmly  the  old  traditions  of  that  unbending 
Toryism  of  which  he  was  once  the  most  promis- 
ing representative.  Lord  Derby,  w^honi  he  had 
deposed,  had  been  elected  Chancellor  of  the 
University  to  succeed  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
deceased.  Consequently  his  return  to  the  House 
was  ardently  contested.  His  opponents  looked 
around  for  a  candidate  of  strong  Conservative 
principles.  The  Marquis  of  Chandos,  who  was 
first  elected,  declined  to  run  in  opposition  to 
Mr.  Gladstone  ;  but  at  length  a  suitable  opponent 
was  found  in  Mr.  Dudley  Perceval,  of  Christ 
Church,  son  of  the  Right  Hon.  Spencer  Perceval, 
who  was  nominated  January  4th. 

Dr.  Hawkins,  Provost  of  Oriel,  one  of  the 
twenty  colleges  of  Oxford,  proposed  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, and   Archdeacon    Denison,  leader   of  the 


The  First  Budget  315 

High  Church  party,  proposed  Mr.  Dudley  Per- 
ceval. According  to  the  custom  at  university 
elections,  neither  candidate  was  present.  It  was 
objected  to  Mr.  Gladstone  that  he  had  voted 
improperly  on  ecclesiastical  questions,  and  had 
accepted  office  in  "a  hybrid  ministry."  The 
"  Times  "  described  Mr.  Perceval  as  "  a  very  near 
relative  of  our  old  friend  Mrs.  Harris.  To 
remove  any  doubt  on  this  point,  let  him  be 
exhibited  at  Exeter  Hall  with  the  documentary 
evidence  of  his  name,  existence  and  history  ;  his 
first-class,  his  defeat  at  Finsbury,  his  talents,  his 
principles.  If  we  must  go  to  Oxford  to  record 
our  votes  it  would  at  least  be  something  to  know 
that  we  were  voting  against  a  real  man  and  not 
a  mere  name."  The  "  Morning  Chronicle,"  on 
the  other  hand,  affirmed  that  a  section  of  the 
Carleton  Club  were  ^'making  a  tool  of  the  Oxford 
Convocation  for  the  purpose  of  the  meanest  and 
smallest  political  rancor  against  Mr.  Gladstone." 

Mr.  Gladstone,  who  fought  the  battle  on 
ecclesiastical  lines,  wrote,  after  the  nomination, 
to  the  chairman  of  his  election  committee,  as 
follows : 

"Unless  I  had  a  full  and  clear  conviction 
that  the  interests  of  the  Church,  whether  as 
relates  to  the  legislative  functions  of  Parliament, 
or  the  impartial  and  wise  recommendation  of  fit 
persons  to  her  majesty  for  high  ecclesiastical 
offices,  were  at  least  as   safe  in  the  hands   of 


3i6  William  E.  Gladstone 

Lord  Aberdeen  as  in  tHose  of  Lord  Derby 
(tliougb  I  would  on  no  account  disparage  Lord 
Derby's  personal  sentiments  towards  tbe  Church), 
I  should  not  have  accepted  ofl&ce  under  Lord 
Aberdeen.  As  regards  the  second,  if  it  be 
thought  that  during  twenty  years  of  public  life, 
or  that  during  the  latter  part  of  them,  I  have 
failed  to  give  guarantees  of  attachment  to  the 
interests  of  the  Church — to  such  as  so  think  I 
can  offer  neither  apology  nor  pledge.  To  those 
who  think  otherwise,  I  tender  the  assurance  that 
I  have  not  by  my  recent  assumption  of  office 
made  any  change  whatever  in  that  particular,  or 
in  any  principles  relating  to  it." 

Mr.  Gladstone  was  again  elected  by  a  fair 
majority  and  returned  to  Parliament.  Seventy- 
four  of  the  professors  voted  for  Mr.  Gladstone 
and  fifteen  for  Mr.  Perceval. 

When  Parliament  assembled  the  Earl  of 
Aberdeen  announced  in  the  House  of  Lords  that 
the  measures  of  the  Government  would  be 
both  Conservative  and  Liberal, — at  home  to 
maintain  Free  Trade  principles  and  to  pursue  the 
commercial  and  financial  system  of  the  late 
Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  abroad  to  secure  the  gen- 
eral peace  of  Europe  without  relaxing  defensive 
measures. 

Mr.  Gladstone  had  already  proved  himself  to 
have  a  wonderful  mastery  of  figures,  and  the 
confused   technicalities    of  finance.     He  did  not 


The  First  BuDGEt  jt; 

disappoint  the  hopes  of  his  friends  in  regard  to 
his  fiscal  abilities.  On  the  contrary,  he  speedily 
inaugurated  a  new  and  brilliant  era  in  finance. 
Previous  to  presenting  his  first  budget,  in  1853, 
Mr.  Gladstone  brought  forward  a  scheme  for  the 
reduction  of  the  national  debt,  which  was  ap- 
proved by  Radicals  as  well  as  Conservatives,  and 
adopted  by  the  House.  The  scheme  worked 
most  successfully  until  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Crimean  war.  During  this  very  short  period  of 
two  years  the  public  debt  was  reduced  by  more 
than  $57,500,000. 

In  consequence  of  his  general  reputation 
and  also  of  this  brilliant  financial  scheme,  the 
first  budget  of  Mr.  Gladstone  was  waited  for  with 
intense  interest.  His  first  budget  was  introduced 
April  18,  1853.  It  was  one  of  his  greatest 
budgets,  and  for  statesmanlike  breadth  of  concep- 
tion it  has  never  been  surpassed.  In  bringing  it 
forward  Mr.  Gladstone  spoke  five  hours,  and 
during  that  length  of  time  held  the  House  spell- 
bound. The  speech  was  delivered  with  the 
greatest  ease,  and  was  perspicuity  itself  through- 
out. Even  when  dealing  with  the  most  abstruse 
financial  detail  his  language  flowed  on  without 
interruption,  and  he  never  paused  for  a  word. 
"  Here  was  an  orator  who  could  apply  all  the 
resources  of  a  burnished  rhetoric  to  the  elucida- 
tion of  figures  ;  who  could  make  pippins  and 
cheese  interesting  and   tea  serious ;    who   could 


3i8  William  E.  Gladstone 

sweep  tHe  widest  horizon  of  the  financial  future 
and  yet  stoop  to  bestow  the  minutest  attention  on 
the  microcosm  of  penny  stamps  and  post-horses. 
The  members  on  the  floor  and  ladies  in  the 
gallery  of  the  House  listened  attentively  and 
showed  no  signs  of  weariness  throughout."  A 
contemporary  awarded  to  him  the  palm  for  un- 
surpassed fluency  and  choice  of  diction,  and  says  : 

"  The  impression  produced  upon  the  minds 
of  the  crowded  and  brilliant  assembly  by  Mr. 
Gladstone's  evident  mastery  and  grasp  of  the 
subject,  was,  that  England  had  at  length  found 
a  skillful  financier,  upon  whom  the  mantle  of 
Peel  had  descended.  The  cheering  when  the 
right  honorable  gentleman  sat  down  was  of  the 
most  enthusiastic  and  prolonged  character,  and 
his  friends  and  colleagues  hastened  to  tender  him 
their  warm  congratulations  upon  the  distin- 
guished success  he  had  achieved  in  his  first 
budget." 

The  budget  provided  for  the  gradual  reduction 
of  the  income  tax  to  expire  in  i860;  for  an  in- 
crease in  the  duty  on  spirits ;  for  the  abolition  of 
the  soap  duties ;  the  reduction  of  the  tax  on  cabs 
and  hackney  coaches ;  the  introduction  of  the 
penny  receipt  stamp  ^,nd  the  equalization  of  the 
assessed  taxes  on  property.  By  these  provisions 
it  was  proposed  to  make  life  easier  and  cheaper 
for  large  and  numerous  classes.  The  duty  on 
123  articles  was  abolished  and  the  duty  on  133 


The  First  Budget  519 

others  reduced,  the  total  relief  amounting  to 
$25,000,000.  Mr.  Gladstone  gave  a  clear  expo- 
sition of  the  income  tax,  which  he  declared  was 
never  intended  to  be  permanent.  It  had  been 
the  last  resort  in  times  of  national  danger,  and  he 
could  not  consent  to  retain  it  as  a  part  of  the 
permanent  and  ordinary  finances  of  the  country. 
It  was  ojectionable  on  account  of  its  unequal 
incidence,  of  the  harrassing  investigation  into 
private  affairs  which  it  entailed  and  of  the  frauds 
to  which  it  inevitably  led. 

The  value  of  the  reduction  in  the  necessities 
of  life  proposed  by  Mr.  Gladstone  is  seen  from 
the  following  from  a  contemporary  writer : 

"  The  present  budget,  more  than  any  other 
budget  within  our  recollection,  is  a  cupboard 
budget ;  otherwise,  a  poor  man's  budget.  With 
certain  very  ugly  features,  the  thing  has 
altogether  a  good,  hopeful  aspect,  together  with 
very  fair  proportions.  It  is  not  given  to  any 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  to  make  a  budget 
fascinating  as  a  fairy  tale.  Nevertheless,  there 
are  visions  of  wealth  and  comfort  in  the  present 
budget  til  at  mightily  recommend  it  to  us.  It 
seems  to  add  color  and  fatness  to  the  poor  man's 
beef;  to  give  flavor  and  richness  to  the  poor 
man's  plum-pudding.  The  budget  is  essentially 
a  cupboard  budget ;  and  let  the  name  of  Glad- 
stone be,  for  the  time  at  least,  musical  at  the 
poor  man's  fireside." 


320  William  E.  Gladstone 

It  unquestionably  established  Gladstone  as 
tHe  foremost  financier  of  bis  day.  Greville,  in 
bis  ^'  Memoirs,"  says  of  bim :  "  He  spoke  for 
five  bours  ;  and  by  universal  consent  it  was  one 
of  tbe  grandest  displays  and  most  able  financial 
statements  tbat  ever  was  beard  in  tbe  House  of 
Commons  ;  a  great  scbeme,  boldly  and  skillfully 
and  bonestly  devised,  disdaining  popular  clamor 
and  pressure  from  witbout,  and  tbe  execution  of 
its  absolute  perfection." 

We  reproduce  some  extracts  from  tbis  impor- 
tant speecb :  "  Depend  upon  it,  wben  you  come 
to  close  quarters  witb  tbis  subject,  wben  you 
come  to  measure  and  test  tbe  respective  relations 
of  intelligence  and  labor  and  property  in  all  tbeir 
myriad  and  complex  forms,  and  wben  you  come 
to  represent  tbose  relations  in  arithmetical  results, 
you  are  undertaking  an  operation  of  wbicb  I 
should  say  it  was  beyond  tbe  power  of  man  to 
conduct  it  with  satisfaction,  but  which,  at  any 
rate,  is  an  operation  to  which  you  ought  not  con- 
stantly to  recur ;  for  if,  as  my  noble  friend  once 
said  with  universal  applause,  this  country  could 
not  bear  a  revolution  once  a  year,  I  will  venture 
to  say  that  it  cannot  bear  a  reconstruction  of  the 
income  tax  once  a  year. 

"  Whatever  you  do  in  regard  to  the  income 
tax,  you  must  be  bold,  you  must  be  intelligible, 
you  must  be  decisive.  You  must  not  palter  witb 
it.     If  you  do,  I  have  striven    at  least  to  point 


The  First  Budget  321 

out  as  well  as  my  feeble  powers  will  permit,  the 
almost  desecration  I  would  say,  certainly  the 
gross  breach  of  duty  to  your  country,  of  which 
you  will  be  found  guilty,  in  thus  putting  to 
hazard  one  of  the  most  potent  and  effective 
among  all  its  material  resources.  I  believe  it  to 
be  of  vital  importance,  whether  you  keep  this  tax 
or  whether  you  part  with  it,  that  you  should 
either  keep  it  or  should  leave  it  in  a  state  in 
which  it  will  be  fit  for  service  on  an  emergency, 
and  that  it  will  be  impossible  to  do  if  you  break 
up  the  basis  of  your  income  tax. 

"If  the  Committee  have  followed  me,  they 
will  understand  that  we  found  ourselves  on  the 
principle  that  the  income-tax  ought  to  be  marked 
as  a  temporary  measure ;  that  the  public  feeling 
that  relief  should  be  given  to  intelligence  and 
skill  as  compared  with  property  ought  to  be  met, 
and  may  be  met  with  justice  and  with  safety,  in 
the  manner  we  have  pointed  out ;  that  the  income 
tax  in  its  operation  ought  to  be  mitigated  by  every 
rational  means,  compatible  with  its  integrity; 
and,  above  all,  that  it  should  be  associated  in  the 
last  term  of  its  existence,  as  it  was  in  the  first, 
with  those  remissions  of  indirect  taxation  which 
have  so  greatly  redoubled  to  the  profit  of  this 
country  and  have  set  so  admirable  an  example — 
an  example  that  has  already  in  some  quarters 
proved  contagious  to  the  other  nations  of  the 
earth,    These  are  the  principles  on  which  we 


322  William  E.  Gladstone 

stand,  and  these  the  figures.  I  have  shown  you 
that  if  you  grant  us  the  taxes  which  ^e  ask,  to 
the  moderate  amount  of  ;^2, 500,000  in  the  whole, 
much  less  than  that  sum  for  the  present  year, 
you,  or  the  Parliament  which  may  be  in  e^tistence 
in  i860,  will  be  in  the  condition,  if  it  shall  so 
think  fit,  to  part  with  the  income  tax. 

"Sir,  I  scarcely  dare  to  look  at  the  clock, 
shamefully  reminding  me,  as  it  must,  how  long, 
how  shamelessly,  I  have  trespassed  on  the  time 
of  the  committee.  All  I  can  say  in  apology  is 
that  I  have  endeavored  to  keep  closely  to  the 
topics  which  I  had  before  me — 

— immensum  spatiis  confecimus  sequor, 
Et  jam  tempus  equum  fumantia  solvere  colla. 

"  These  are  the  proposals  of  the  Government. 
They  may  be  approved  or  they  may  be  condemned, 
but  I  have  at  least  this  full  and  undoubting  con- 
fidence, that  it  will  on  all  hands  be  admitted  tha'- 
we  have  not  sought  to  evade  the  difficulties  of 
our  position ;  that  we  have  not  concealed  those 
difficulties,  either  from  ourselves  or  from  others  ; 
that  we  have  not  attempted  to  counteract  them 
by  narrow  or  flimsy  expedients  ;  that  we  have 
prepared  plans  which,  if  you  will  adopt  them, 
will  go  some  way  to  close  up  many  vexed 
financial  questions — questions  such  as,  if  not 
now  settled,  may  be  attended  with  public  incon- 
venience, and  even  with  public  danger,  in  future 
years  and  under  less  favorable  circumstances ; 


The  First  Budget  323 

that  we  have  endeavored,  in  the  plans  we  have 
now  submitted  to  you,  to  make  the  path  of  our 
successors  in  future  years  not  more  arduous  but 
more  easy  ;  and  I  may  be  permitted  to  add  that, 
while  we  have  sought  to  do  justice,  by  the 
changes  we  propose  in  taxation,  to  intelligence 
and  skill  as  compared  with  property — while  we 
have  sought  to  do  justice  to  the  great  laboring 
community  of  England  by  furthering  their  relief 
from  indirect  taxation,  we  have  not  been  guided 
by  any  desire  to  put  one  class  against  another. 
We  have  felt  we  should  best  maintain  our  own 
honor,  that  we  should  best  meet  the  views  of 
Parliament,  and  best  promote  the  interests  of  the 
country,  by  declining  to  draw  any  invidious  dis- 
tinctions between  class  and  class,  by  adapting  it 
to  ourselves  as  a  sacred  aim  to  differ  and  dis- 
tribute— burden  if  we  must,  benefit  if  we  may — 
with  equal  and  impartial  hand ;  and  we  have  the 
consolation  of  believing  that  by  proposals  such 
as  these  we  contribute,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  not 
only  to  develop  the  material  resources  of  the 
country,  but  to  knit  the  hearts  of  the  various 
classes  of  this  great  nation  yet  more  closely 
than  heretofore  to  that  throne  and  to  those 
institutions  under  which  it  is  their  happiness 
to  live." 

It  is  seldom  that  a  venture  of  such  magni- 
tude as  Mr.  Gladstone's  first  budget  meets  with 
universal  success.     But  from  the  outset  the  plan 


524  William  E.  Gladstone 

was  received  with  universal  favor.  Besides  the 
plaudits  with  which  the  orator  was  greeted  at  the 
conclusion  of  his  speech,  his  proposals  were 
received  favorably  by  the  whole  nation.  Being 
constructed  upon  Free  Trade  principles,  it  was 
welcomed  by  the  press  and  the  country.  It  added 
greatly,  not  only  to  the  growing  reputation  of  the 
new  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  as  a  financier, 
but  also  to  his  popularity. 

The  following  anecdote  of  Mr.  Gladstone  is 
told  by  Walter  Jerrold  and  is  appropriate  as  well 
as  timely  here : 

"  During  Mr.  Gladstone's  first  tenure  of 
oflBce  as  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  a  curious 
adventure  occurred  to  him  in  the  London  offices 
of  the  late  Mr.  W.  Lindsay,  merchant,  shipowner 
and  M.  P.  There  one  day  entered  a  brusque  and 
wealthy  shipowner  of  Sunderland,  inquiring  for 
Mr.  Lindsay.  As  Mr.  Lindsay  was  out,  the 
visitor  was  requested  to  wait  in  an  adjacent  room, 
where  he  found  a  person  busily  engaged  in  copy- 
ing some  figures.  The  Sunderland  shipowner 
paced  the  room  several  times  and  took  careful 
note  of  the  writer's  doings,  and  at  length  said  to 
him,  *  Thou  writes  a  bonny  hand,  thou  dost.' 

"^I  am  glad  you  think  so,'  was  the  reply. 

" '  Ah,  thou  dost.  Thou  makes  thy  figures 
weel.     Thou  'rt  just  the  chap  I  want.' 

^* '  Indeed  I '  said  the  Londoner, 


The  Sunderland  Ship-Owner  Surprised. 


The  First  Budget  327 

"*Yes,  indeed/  said  the  Sunderland  man. 
*  I'm  a  man  of  few  words.  Noo,  if  thou  'It  come 
over  to  canny  ould  Sunderland  thou  seest  I'll 
give  thee  a  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  a  year, 
and  that's  a  plum  thou  dost  not  meet  with  every 
day  in  thy  life,  I  reckon.     Noo  then.' 

"The  Londoner  replied  that  he  was  much 
obliged  for  the  offer,  and  would  wait  till  Mr. 
Lindsay  returned,  whom  he  would  consult  upon 
the  subject.  Accordingly,  on  the  return  of 
the  latter,  he  was  informed  of  the  shipowner's 
tempting  offer. 

"  ^  Very  well,'  said  Mr.  Lindsay,  ^  I  should  be 
sorry  to  stand  in  your  way.  One  hundred  and 
twenty  pounds  is  more  than  I  can  afford  to  pay 
you  in  the  department  in  which  you  are  at 
present  placed.  You  will  find  my  friend  a  good 
and  kind  master,  and,  under  the  circumstances, 
the    sooner   you   know    each   other  the   better. 

Allow  me,  therefore,  Mr. ,  to  introduce  you 

to  the  Right  Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone,  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer.'  The  Sunderland  shipowner 
was  a  little  taken  aback  at  first,  but  he  soon 
recovered  his  self-possession,  and  enjoyed  the 
joke  quite  as  much  as  Mr.  Gladstone  did." 


CHAPTER  X 
The  Crimean  War 

^^*7f  HE  Crimean  War,  the  great  event  with 
W  J       whicH    the    Aberdeen    Cabinet    was 
^^r  associated,    was    a    contest    between 

Russia  and  Turkey,  England  and 
France.  A  dispute  which  arose  be- 
tween Russia  and  Turkey  as  to  the  possession 
the  Holy  Places  of  Jerusalem  was  the  precipi- 
tating cause.  For  a  long  time  the  Greek  and  the 
Latin  Churches  had  contended  for  the  possession 
of  the  Holy  Land.  Russia  supported  the  claim 
of  the  Greek  Church,  and  France  that  of  the 
Papal  Church.  The  Czar  claimed  a  Protectorate 
over  all  the  Greek  subjects  of  the  Porte.  Russia 
sought  to  extend  her  conquests  south  and  to 
seize  upon  Turkey.  France  and  England  sus- 
tained Turkey.  Sardinia  afterwards  joined  the 
Anglo-French  alliance. 

The  people  of  England   generally  favored 
the  war,  and  evinced  much  enthusiasm  at  the 
prospect  of  it.     Lord  Aberdeen  and  Mr.  Glad- 
stone   wished   England   to   stand    aloof.      The 
328 


The  Crimean  War  329 

Peelite  members  of  the  cabinet  were  generally 
less  inclined  to  war  tban  the  Whigs.  Lord 
Palmerston  and  Lord  John  Rnssell  favored 
England's  support  of  Turkey.  Some  thought 
that  England  could  have  averted  the  war  by 
pursuing  persistently  either  of  two  courses  : 
to  inform  Turkey  that  England  would  give 
her  no  aid;  or  to  warn  Russia  that  if  she 
went  to  war,  England  would  fight  for  Turkey. 
But  with  a  ministry  halting  between  two 
opinions,  and  the  people  demanding  it,  En^ 
land  "drifted  into  war"  with  Russia. 

July  2,  1853,  the  Russian  troops  crossed  the 
Pruth  and  occupied  the  Danubian  Principalities, 
which  had  been  by  treaty,  in  1849,  evacuated  by 
Turkey  and  Russia,  and  declared  by  both 
powers  neutral  territory  between  them.  London 
was  startled,  October  4,  1853,  by  a  telegram 
announcing  that  the  Sultan  had  declared  war 
against  Russia.  England  and  France  jointly 
sent  an  ultimatum  to  the  Czar,  to  which  no 
answer  was  returned.  March  28,  1854,  England 
declared  war. 

On  the  1 2th  of  March,  while  great  excite- 
ment prevailed  and  public  meetings  were  held 
throughout  England,  declaring  for  and  against 
war,  Mr.  Gladstone  made  an  address  on  the 
occasion  of  the  inauguration  of  the  statue  of 
Sir  Robert  Peel,  at  Manchester.  He  spoke  of 
the  designs  of  Russia,  and   described  her  as  a 


330  William  E.  Gladstone 

power  whicli  threatened  to  override  all  other 
powers,  and  as  a  source  of  danger  to  the  peace 
of  the  world.  Against  such  designs,  seen  in 
Russia's  attempt  to  overthrow  the  Ottoman 
Empire,  England  had  determined  to  set  herself 
at  whatever  cost.  War  was  a  calamity  that  the 
government  did  not  desire  to  bring  upon  the 
country,  "  a  calamity  which  stained  the  face  of 
nature  with  human  gore,  gave  loose  rein  to 
crime,  and  took  bread  from  the  people.  No 
doubt  negotiation  is  repugnant  to  the  national 
impatience  at  the  sight  of  injustice  and  oppres- 
sion ;  it  is  beset  with  delay,  intrigue,  and 
chicane ;  but  these  are  not  so  horrible  as  war,  if 
negotiation  can  be  made  to  result  in  saving  this 
country  from  a  calamity  which  deprives  the 
nation  of  subsistence  and  arrests  the  operations 
of  industry.  To  attain  that  result  *  *  * 
Her  Majesty's  Ministers  have  persevered  in 
exercising  that  self-command  and  that  self- 
restraint  which  impatience  may  mistake  for 
indifference,  feebleness  or  cowardice,  but  which 
are  truly  the  crowning  greatness  of  a  great 
people,  and  which  do  not  evince  the  want  of 
readiness  to  vindicate,  when  the  time  comes, 
the  honor  of  this  country." 

In  November  a  conference  of  some  of  the 
European  powers  was  held  at  Vienna  to.  avert 
the  v^r  by  mediating  between  Russia  and 
Turkey,  but  was  unsuccessful.     Mr.  Gladstone 


The  Crimean  War  331 

said:  "Austria  urged  the  two  leading  states, 
England  and  France,  to  send  in  tHeir  ultimatum 
to  Russia,  and  promised  it  her  decided  support. 
*  *  *  Prussia  at  tlie  critical  moment,  to  speak 
in  homely  language,  bolted.  *  *  *  Jn  fact, 
she  broke  up  the  European  concert,  by  which 
France  and  England  had  hoped  to  pull  down 
the  stubbornness  of  the  Czar." 

Mr.  Gladstone  had  opposed  the  war,  not 
only  on  humanitarian  and  Christian  grounds, 
but  also  because  the  preparation  of  a  war  budget 
overthrew  all  his  financial  schemes  and  hopes ; 
a  new  budget  was  necessary,  and  he  as  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  must  prepare  it.  Know- 
ing that  the  struggle  was  inevitable,  he  therefore 
bent  his  energies  to  the  task  and  conceived  a 
scheme  for  discharging  the  expenses  of  the  war 
out  of  the  current  revenue,  provided  it  required 
no  more  than  ten  million  pounds  extra,  so  that 
the  country  should  not  be  permanently  bur- 
dened. It  would  require  to  do  this  the  imposi- 
tion of  fresh  taxes. 

"  It  thus  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  most  pacific 
of  Ministers,  the  devotee  of  retrenchment,  and 
the  anxious  cultivator  of  all  industrial  arts,  to 
prepare  a  war  budget,  and  to  meet  as  well  as  he 
might  the  exigencies  of  a  conflict  which  had  so 
cruelly  dislocated  all  the  ingenious  devices  of 
financial  optimism." 


332  William  E.  Gladstone 

Mr.  Gladstone  afterwards  moved  for  over 
six  and  a  half  millions  of  pounds  more  than 
already  granted,  and  proposed  a  further  increase 
in  the  taxes.  Mr.  Disraeli  opposed  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's budget.  He  devised  a  scheme  to  borrow 
and  thus  increase  the  debt.  He  opposed  the 
imposition  of  new  taxes.  Mr.  Gladstone  said : 
*'  Every  good  motive  and  every  bad  motive,  com- 
bated only  by  the  desire  of  the  approval  of 
honorable  men  and  by  conscientious  rectitude — 
every  motive  of  ease,  comfort,  and  of  certainty 
spring  forward  to  induce  a  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  to  become  the  first  man  to  recom- 
mend a  loan."     Mr.  Gladstone  was  sustained. 

The  war  had  begun  in  earnest.  The  Duke 
of  Newcastle  received  a  telegram  on  the  21st 
of  September  announcing  that  25,000  English 
troops,  25,000  French  and  8000  Turks  had 
landed  safely  at  Eupatoria  ^'without  meeting 
with  any  resistance,  and  had  already  begun  to 
march  upon  Sebastopol." 

The  war  was  popular  with  the  English  peo- 
ple, but  the  ministry  of  Lord  Aberdeen,  which 
inaugurated  it,  was  becoming  unpopular.  This 
became  apparent  in  the  autumn  of  1854.  There 
were  not  actual  dissensions  in  the  Cabinet,  but 
there  was  great  want  of  harmony  as  to  the 
conduct  of  the  war.  The  Queen  knew  with 
what  reluctance  Lord  Aberdeen  had  entered 
Upon   the  war,  but  she  had  the   utmost   confi- 


The  Crimean  War  333 

dence  in  Him  as  a  man  and  a  statesman.  She 
was  most  desirous  that  the  war  be  prosecuted 
with  vigor,  and  trusted  the  Premier  for  the 
realization  of  her  hopes  and  those  of  the  nation, 
but  unity  in  the  Cabinet  was  necessary  for  the 
successful  prosecution  of  the  war. 

Parliament  assembled  December  12,  1854, 
"  under  circumstances  more  stirring  and  momen- 
tous than  any  which  had  occurred  since  the  year 
of  Waterloo."  The  management  of  the  war  was 
the  main  subject  under  discussion.  The  Eng- 
lish troops  had  covered  themselves  with  glory 
in  the  battles  of  Alma,  Balaclava  and  Inker- 
mann.  But  the  sacrifice  was  great.  Thousands 
were  slain  and  homes  made  desolate,  while  the 
British  army  was  suffering  greatly,  and  the 
sick  and  wounded  were  needing  attention.  Half 
a  million  pounds  were  subscribed  in  three  months, 
and  Miss  Florence  Nightingale  with  thirty-seven 
lady  nurses,  soon  to  be  reinforced  by  fifty  more, 
set  out  at  once  for  the  seat  of  war  to  nurse  the 
sick  and  wounded  soldiers.  It  is  recorded  that 
"  they  reached  Scutari  on  the  5th  of  November, 
in  time  to  receive  the  soldiers  who  had  been 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Balaclava.  On  the 
arrival  of  Miss  Nightingale  the  great  hospital 
at  Scutari,  in  which  up  to  this  time  all  had  been 
chaos  and  discomfort,  was  reduced  to  order,  and 
those  tender  lenitives  which  only  woman's 
thought  and  woman's  sympathy  can   bring  to 


334  William  E.  Gladstone 

the  sick  man's  couch,  were  applied  to  solace 
and  alleviate  tHe  agonies  of  pain  or  the  torture 
of  fever  and  prostration." 

It  was  natural  to  attribute  the  want  of 
proper  management  to  the  ministry,  and  hence 
the  Government  found  itself  under  fire.  In  the 
House  of  Lords  the  Earl  of  Derby  condemned 
the  inefficient  manner  in  which  the  war  had 
been  carried  on,  the  whole  conduct  of  the 
ministry  in  the  war,  and  the  insufficiency  of 
the  number  of  troops  sent  out  to  check  the 
power  of  Russia.  The  Duke  of  Newcastle 
replied,  and  while  not  defending  all  the  actions 
of  the  ministry  during  the  war,  yet  contended 
that  the  government  were  prepared  to  prosecute 
it  with  resolve  and  unflinching  firmness.  While 
not  standing  ready  to  reject  overtures  of  peace, 
they  would  not  accept  any  but  an  honorable 
termination  of  the  war.  The  ministry  relied 
upon  the  army,  the  people,  and  upon  their  allies 
with  the  full  confidence  of  ultimate  success. 

Mr.  Disraeli,  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
attacked  the  policy  of  the  ministry  from  begin- 
ning to  end.  Everything  was  a  blunder  or  a 
mishap  of  some  description  or  other ;  the 
government  had  invaded  Russia  with  25,000 
troops  without  providing  any  provision  for  their 
support. 

When  the  House  of  Commons  assembled, 
in  January,  1855,  it  became  apparent  that  there 


The  Crimean  War  33jt 

was  a  determination  to  sift  to  tHe  bottom  the 
charges  that  had  been  made  against  the  min- 
istry regarding  their  manner  of  carrying  on  the 
war.  The  Queen  expressed  her  sympathy  fo>" 
Lord  Aberdeen^  who  was  in  a  most  unenviable 
position.  Motions  hostile  to  the  government 
were  introduced  in  the  House  of  Lords,  while  in 
the  House  of  Commons"  Mr.  Roebuck  moved  for  a 
select  committee  "  to  inquire  into  the  condition 
of  the  army  before  Sebastopol,  and  into  the  con- 
duct of  those  departments  of  the  government 
whose  duty  it  has  been  to  minister  to  the  wants 
of  the  army." 

Lord  John  Russell  resigned  his  office  and 
left  his  colleagues  to  face  the  vote.  He  could 
not  see  how  Mr.  Roebuck^s  motion  could  be 
resisted.  This  seemed  to  portend  the  downfall 
of  the  ministry.  The  Duke  of  Newcastle,  Sec- 
retary of  War,  offered  to  retire  to  save  the 
government.  Lord  Palmerston  believed  that 
the  breaking  up  of  the  ministry  would  be  a 
calamity  to  the  country,  but  he  doubted  the 
expediency  of  the  retirement  of  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle,  and  his  own  fitness  for  the  place  of 
Minister  of  War,  if  vacated.  Finally  the  Cabinet 
resolved  to  hold  together,  except  Lord  John 
Russell. 

In  the  debate  it  was  declared  that  the  con- 
dition of  things  at  the  seat  of  war  was  exagger- 
ated, but  the  speech   of  Mr.  Stafford  caused  a, 


336  William  £.  Gladstone 

great  sensation.  He  described  the  sufiferings 
which  he  declared  he  had  himself  witnessed. 
He  summed  up  by  quoting  the  language  of 
a  French  officer,  who  said  :  "  You  seem,  sir,  to 
carry  on  war  according  to  the  system  of  the 
Middle  Ages.'^  The  situation  of  the  ministry 
was  critical  before,  but  this  speech  seemed  to 
make  sure  the  passage  of  the  resolutions. 

It  was  under  all  these  depressing  circum- 
stances that  Mr.  Gladstone  rose  to  defend  him- 
self and  his  colleagues.  In  a  fine  passage  he 
thus  described  what  the  position  of  the  Cabinet 
would  have  been  if  they  had  shrunk  from  their 
duty  :  "  What  sort  of  epitaph  would  have  been 
written  over  their  remains  ?  He  himself  would 
have  written  it  thus :  Here  lie  the  dishonored 
ashes  of  a  ministry  which  found  England  at 
peace  and  left  it  in  war,  which  was  content  to 
enjoy  the  emoluments  of  office  and  to  wield  the 
sceptre  of  power  so  long  as  no  man  had  the 
courage  to  question  their  existence.  They  saw 
the  storm  gathering  over  the  country  ;  they 
heard  the  agonizing  accounts  which  were  almost 
daily  received  of  the  state  of  the  sick  and 
wounded  in  the  East.  These  things  did  not 
move  them.  But  as  soon  as  the  Honorable 
Member  for  Sheffield  raised  his  hand  to  point 
the  thunderbolt,  they  became  conscience-strick- 
en with  a  sense  of  guilt,  and,  hoping  to  escape 
punishment,  they  ran  away  from  duty," 


The  Crimean  War  337 

This  eloquent  passage  was  received  witli 
tumultuous  cheers.  Mr.  Gladstone  claimed  that 
there  had  been  many  exaggerations  as  to  the 
state  of  the  army  and  there  were  then  more 
than  30,000  British  troops  under  arms  before 
Sebastopol.  The  administration  of  the  War 
Department  at  home  was  no  doubt  defective, 
but  he  declined  to  admit  that  it  had  not  im- 
proved, or  that  it  was  as  bad  as  to  deserve 
formal  censure,  and  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  did 
not  merit  the  condemnation  sought  to  be  cast 
on  him  as  the  head  of  the  War  Department. 

Mr.  Disraeli  was  eagerly  heard  when  he 
rose  to  speak.  He  said  that  the  government 
admitted  .that  they  needed  reconstruction,  and 
that  now  the  House  was  called  upon  to  vote 
confidence  in  the  administration.  It  was  not 
the  Duke  of  Newcastle  nor  the  military  system, 
but  the  policy  of  the  whole  Cabinet  which  he 
characterized  as  a  "deplorable  administration.'* 

The  result  of  the  vote  was  a  strange  sur- 
prise to  all  parties,  and  one  of  the  greatest  ever 
experienced  in  Parliamentary  history.  The 
vote  for  Mr.  Roebuck's  committee  was  205 ; 
and  against  it,  148 ;  a  majority  against  the 
ministry  of  157.  "The  scene  was  a  peculiar 
and  probably  an  unparalleled  one.  The  cheers 
which  are  usually  heard  from  one  side  or  the 
other  of  the  House  on  the  numbers  of  a  divi- 
sion being   announced,  were  not    forthcoming. 


338  William  E.  Gladstone 

The  members  were  for  a  moment  spellbound 
with  astonishment,  then  there  came  a  murmur 
of  amazement  and  finally  a  burst  of  general 
laughter."  The  resignation  of  the  Aberdeen 
ministry  was  announced  February  ist,  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle  stating  that  it  had  been  his 
intention  to  give  up  the  office  of  Secretary  of 
War  whether  Mr.  Roebuck's  resolution  had 
passed  or  not. 

Thus  was  overthrown  the  famous  coalition 
Cabinet  of  Lord  Aberdeen — one  of  the  most 
brilliant  ever  seen — a  Cabinet  distinguished  for 
its  oratorical  strength,  and  for  the  conspicuous 
abilities  of  its  chief  members.  Mr.  Gladstone, 
who  was  the  most  distinguished  Peelite  in  the 
Cabinet,  certainly  could  not,  up  to  this  period, 
be  suspected  of  lukewarmness  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  war.  Lord  Palmerston  formed  a 
reconstructed  rather  than  a  new  Cabinet.  Mr. 
Gladstone  and  his  friends  at  first  declined  to 
serve  in  the  new  Cabinet,  out  of  regard  for  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle  and  Lord  Aberdeen,  the  real 
victims  of  the  adverse  vote.  But  these  noble- 
men besought  Mr.  Gladstone  not  to  let  his 
personal  feelings  stand  in  the  way  of  his 
own  interests,  and  not  to  deprive  the  country 
of  his  great  services,  so  he  resumed  office  as 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  Lord  Palmerston 
had  been  regarded  as  the  coming  man,  and 
his  name  carried  weight  upon  the  Continent  and 


The  Crimean  War  339 

at  Home.  But  the  new  ministry  was  surrounded 
by  serious  difiB.culties,  and  did  not  pull  together 
very  long.  The  War  Minister,  Lord  Panmure, 
entered  upon  his  duties  with  energy,  and  pro- 
posed, February  i6th,  his  remedy  for  existing 
evils;  but  on  the  19th  of  February  Mr.  Layard 
in  the  House  of  Commons  said,  ^Hhe  country 
stood  on  the  brink  of  ruin — it  had  fallen  into  the 
abyss  of  disgrace  and  become  the  laughing-stock 
of  Europe."  He  declared  that  the  new  ministry 
differed  little  from  the  last. 

Lord  Palmerston,  in  answer  to  inquiries, 
lamented  the  sufferings  of  the  army  and  con- 
fessed that  mishaps  had  been  made,  but  the 
present  ministry  had  come  forward  in  an 
emergency  and  from  a  sense  of  public  duty, 
and  he  believed  would  obtain  the  confidence  of 
the  country.  But  another  strange  turn  in 
events  was  at  hand.  Mr.  Roebuck  gave  notice 
of  the  appointment  of  his  committee.  Hostility 
to  the  ministry  was  disclaimed,  but  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, Sir  James  Graham  and  Mr.  Sidney  Her- 
bert took  the  same  view  of  the  question  they 
had  previously  taken.  "  They  were  opposed  to 
the  investigation  as  a  dangerous  breach  of  a 
great  constitutional  principle,  and  if  the  com- 
mittee was  granted,  it  would  be  a  precedent 
from  whose  repetition  the  Executive  could  never 
again   escape,  however  unreasonable  might  be 


340  William  E.  Gladstone 

the   nature    of  the    demand.      They    therefore 
retired  from  office. 

The  report  of  the  committee,  when  pre- 
sented, practically  advised  a  vote  of  censure 
upon  the  Aberdeen  Cabinet  for  the  sufferings 
of  the  British  army,  hence  the  house  declined 
to  entertain  it  by  a  large  majority  of  107.  As 
the  appointment  of  the  committee,  however,  was 
the  only  way  to  allay  the  popular  excitement, 
there  were  many  who  thought  that  the  Peelites 
would  have  done  well  to  recognize  the  urgency 
of  the  crisis  and  not  to  have  abandoned  the 
Government. 

The  resignation  of  Mr.  Gladstone  made 
him  very  unpopular.  However,  "  the  wave  of 
unpopularity  lasted  perhaps  for  a  couple  of 
years,  and  was  afterwards  replaced  by  a  long- 
sustained  popularity,  which  has  not  been  ex- 
ceeded by  any  statesman  of  the  country. 
Greville  referred  to  Gladstone  about  this  time 
as  ^  the  most  unpopular  man  in  the  country.'  " 

March  2d  the  Emperor  Nicholas  died  sud- 
denly, and  there  were  momentary  hopes  of 
peace ;  but  his  successor,  Alexander,  resolved 
to  prosecute  the  struggle  rather  than  yield  the 
positions  taken  by  the  late  Czar.  He  issued  a 
warlike  proclamation,  and  though  he  agreed  to 
take  part  in  the  Vienna  Conference  of  European 
powers,  to  be  held  March  15th,  there  were  no 


The  Crimean  War  341 

signs    that    lie    intended    to   recede    from   the 
Russian   claims. 

Lord  John  Russell  was  sent  to  Vienna  as 
English  Plenipotentiary.  The  English  aimed 
to  secure  the  limitation  of  the  preponderance  of 
Russia  in  the  Black  Sea,  and  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  Turkey  as  one  of  the  great  European 
powers.  To  gain  these  points  would,  it  was 
thought,  end  the  war.  Russia  "would  not  con- 
sent to  limit  the  number  of  her  ships — if  she 
did  so  she  forfeited  her  honor,  she  would  be  no 
longer  Russia.  They  did  not  want  Turkey, 
they  would  be  glad  to  maintain  the  Sultan,  but 
they  knew  it  was  impossible ;  he  must  perish  ; 
they  were  resolved  not  to  let  any  other  power 
have  Constantinople — they  must  not  have  that 
dooi  to  their  dominions  in  the  Black  Sea  shut 
against  them."  The  Conference  failed,  and 
Lord  John  Russell  was  held  responsible  for  its 
failure,  and  was  eventually  forced  out  of  the 
Cabinet  on  that  account.  The  failure  of  the 
Vienna  negotiations  produced  great  excitement, 
and  the  ministry  were  attacked  and  defeated 
in  both  Houses  of  Parliament.  Mr.  Disraeli 
offered  a  resolution  of  dissatisfaction  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  Mr.  Gladstone  spoke  dur- 
ing the  debate  on  the  failure  of  the  Vienna 
Conference,  and  defended  the  war  of  the  Crimea. 
He  did  not  consider  it  a  failure,  for  Russia  now 
agreed  to  most  of  the  points  raised  by  the  allies, 


542^  William  E.  Gladstone 

and  the  only  matter  to  be  adjusted,  was  the  propo- 
sition to  limit  the  power  of  Russia  in  the  Black 
Sea.  Personally,  he  had  formerly  favored  the 
curtailment  of  Russia's  power  there,  but  he  now 
thought  that  such  a  proposal  implied  a  great 
indignity  to  Russia.  He  believed  that  the  pro- 
posal of  Russia  to  give  to  Turkey  the  power  of 
opening  and  shutting  the  straits  was  one  calcu- 
lated to  bring  about  a  peaceful  settlement.  The 
time  was  favorable  to  make  peace.  Lord  John 
Russell  replied  vigorously  to  Mr.  Gladstone. 
The  House  decided  by  a  majority  of  lOO  to 
support  the  ministry  in  the  further  prosecution 
of  the  war  until  a  safe  and  honorable  peace 
could  be  secured. 

But  on  the  loth  of  July  Sir  E.  Bulwer 
Lytton  offered  the  following  resolution  :  ''  That 
the  conduct  of  our  Ministry,  in  the  recent 
negotiations  at  Vienna,  has,  in  the  opinion  of 
this  House,  shaken  the  confidence  of  this 
country  in  those  to  whom  its  affairs  are  en- 
trusted." Lord  John  Russell  again  declined  to 
face  discussion  and  resigned.  During  the  de- 
bate pn  the  motion  Mr.  Disraeli  bitterly  attacked 
Lord  John  Russell  and  the  Premier,  Lord  Palm- 
erston.  But  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  so  far 
from  blaming  the  Ministry  for  hesitating  about 
the  offers  of  peace  at  Vienna,  he  blamed  them 
for  not  giving  the  propositions  that  consideration 
which  their  gravity  demanded,  and  for  abruptly 


■  '■-r^^'WU^^ 


1 


The  Crimean  War 


345 


terminating  the  Conference  and  closing  tlie  Hope 
of  an  honorable  peace. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  on  the  3d  of  August,  made 
another  powerful  appeal  for  the  cessation  of  the 
war.  He  held  that  there  was  now  no  definite 
object  for  continuing  the  struggle;  defended 
the  Austrian  proposals ;  defied  the  Western 
powers  to  control  the  future  destinies  of  Russia, 
save  for  a  moment ;  and  he  placed  "  the  individual 
responsibility  of  the  continuance  of  the  war  on 
the  head  of  the  Ministry." 

But  while  Sebastopol  held  out  there  was  no 
prospect  of  peace  with  Russia.  Finally,  in 
September,  that  fortress  was  taken  and  de- 
stroyed, and  the  Peace  of  Paris  was  concluded, 
March,  1856. 


HousK  OF  Commons* 


CHAPTER  XI 
IN  OPPOSITION  TO  THE  GOVERNMENT 

/IT  was  in  February,  1855,  that  Mr.  Glad- 
^^y  stone  resigned  His  seat  in  the  Cabinet. 
^^  After  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  March,  1856, 
which  put  an  end  to  the  Crimean  War, 
Mr.  Gladstone  found  himself  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  Ministry  of  Lord  Palmerston.  He 
had  assumed  a  position  of  independence,  associat- 
ing politically  with  neither  party.  The  political 
parties  dreaded  criticism  and  attack  from  him, 
for  he  was  not  properly  constructed  for  the  de- 
fense of  either.  He  had  himself  declared  his 
"  sympathies  "  were  "  with  the  Conservatives, 
and  his  opinions  with  the  Liberals,"  and  that  he 
and  his  Peelite  colleagues,  during  this  period  of 
political  isolation,  were  like  roving  icebergs  on 
which  men  could  not  land  with  safety,  but  with 
which  ships  might  come  into  perilous  collision. 
Their  weight  was  too  great  not  to  count,  but  it 
counted  first  this  way  and  then  that.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone was  conscientious  in  his  opposition.  He 
said:    "  I  greatly  felt  being  turned  out  of  office. 

346 


In  Opposition  to  the  Government        347 

I  saw  great  things  to  do.  I  longed  to  do  them. 
I  am  losing  the  best  years  of  my  life  out  of  my 
natural  service.  Yet  I  have  never  ceased  to 
rejoice  that  I  am  not  in  office  with  Palmerston, 
when  I  have  seen  the  tricks,  the  shufflings,  the 
frauds  he  daily  has  recourse  to  as  to  his  business. 
I  rejoice  not  to  sit  on  the  Treasury  Bench  with 
him." 

In  August,  1855,  Lord  Aberdeen  said  : 
"  Gladstone  intends  to  be  Prime  Minister.  He 
has  great  qualifications,  but  some  serious  defects. 
He  is  supreme  in  the  House  of  Commons.  He 
is  too  obstinate  ;  if  a  man  can  be  too  honest,  he 
is  too  honest.  I  have  told  Gladstone  that  when 
he  is  Prime  Minister,  I  will  have  a  seat  in  his 
Cabinet,  if  he  desires  it,  without  an  office." 

During  1856,  several  measures  came  before 
Parliament  which  Mr.  Gladstone  opposed.  He 
vindicated  the  freedom  of  the  Belgian  press, 
whose  liberty  some  of  the  powers  would  curtail, 
and  opposed  resolutions  to  consider  the  state  of 
education  in  England  and  Wales,  as  tending  to 
create  a  central  controlling  power,  involving 
secular  instruction  and  endless  religious  quarrels. 
He  also  opposed  the  budget  of  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis, 
which  imposed  more  duties  upon  the  tea  and 
sugar  of  the  working-man,  and  was  said  to  be 
generally  at  variance  with  the  policy  pursued  by 
every  enlightened  minister  of  finance  Besides, 
he  condemned  the  continuance  of  the  war  duties 


348  William  E.  Gladstone 

in  times  of  peace.  ^'  He  was  a  particularly  acute 
thorn  in  tlie  side  of  the  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer, and  criticised  the  budget  with  unsparing 
vigor.  *  Gladstone  seems  bent  on  leading  Sir 
George  Lewis  a  weary  life/  wrote  Mr.  Greville. 
But  finance  was  by  no  means  the  only  subject  of 
this  terrible  free-lance." 

A  resolution  was  offered  in  the  House  of 
Commons  expressing  disapprobation  with  the 
English  Cabinet  for  sanctioning,  in  1855  ^^^  '5^» 
the  violation  of  international  law,  by  secretly 
enlisting  the  subjects  of  the  United  States  as 
recruits  for  the  British  army,  by  the  intervention 
of  the  English  Ambassador.  Mr.  Gladstone 
said :  "It  appears  to  me  that  the  two  cardinal 
aims  that  we  ought  to  keep  in  view  in  the 
discussion  of  this  question  are  peace  and  a 
thoroughly  cordial  understanding  with  America 
for  one,  the  honor  and  fame  of  England  for  the 
other.  I  am  bound  to  say  that  in  regard  to 
neither  of  these  points  am  I  satisfied  with  the 
existing  state  of  things,  or  with  the  conduct  of 
Her  Majesty's  Government.  A  cordial  under- 
standing with  America  has  not  been  preserved, 
and  the  honor  of  this  country  has  been  com- 
promised." 

Lord  Palmerston,  though  very  popular  with 
the  people,  had  greatly  offended  a  large  portion 
of  the  House  of  Commons  by  his  interference  in 
China,     A  lorcha,  called  the  Arrow^  Ayiiig  the 


In  Opposition  to  the  Government        349- 

Britisli  flag,  had  been  seized  by  the  Chinese,  and 
the  question  arose  as  to  the  right  of  the  vessel  to 
the  protection  of  England.  The  opponents  of 
the  government  contended  that  the  vessel  was 
built  in  China,  was  captured  by  pirates,  and 
recaptured  by  the  Chinese,  and  hence  had  no 
claim  to  British  protection.  To  bring  the  matter 
to  an  issue  Mr.  Cobden  introduced  a  resolution 
of  inquiry  and  censure.  For  five  nights  the 
debate  was  protracted,  and  many  able  speeches 
were  made  on  both  sides,  but  Mr.  Gladstone 
made  one  of  the  most  effective  speeches,  against 
the  ministry.  He  said  :  "  Every  man,  I  trust, 
will  give  his  vote  with  the  consciousness  that  it 
may  depend  upon  his  single  vote  whether  the 
miseries,  the  crimes,  the  atrocities  that  I  fear  are 
now  proceeding  in  China  are  to  be  discounte- 
nanced or  not.  We  have  now  come  to  the  crisis  of 
the  case.  England  is  not  yet  committed.  With 
you,  then,  with  us,  with  every  one  of  us,  it  rests 
to  show  that  this  House,  which  is  the  first,  the 
most  ancient,  and  the  noblest  temple  of  freedom 
in  the  world,  is  also  the  temple  of  that  ever- 
lasting justice  without  which  freedom  itself  would 
only  be  a  name  or  only  a  curse  to  mankind." 
The  Premier  ably  defended  himself,  but  the 
resolution  of  Mr.  Cobden  was  passed.  Parlia- 
ment was  dissolved  March  21,  1857,  and  Lord 
Palmerston  appealed  to  the  country.  He  was 
victorious  at  the  polls.     Among  the  prominent 


550  WILLIAM  E.  Gladstone 

Liberals  who  lost  their  seats  were  Cobden,  Bright, 
and  Milner  Gibson.  The  Peelites  suffered  loss 
too,  but  Mr.  Gladstone  was  again  elected  for 
Oxford  University.  However,  Mr.  Greville 
writes,  under  date  of  June  3d:  "Gladstone 
hardly  ever  goes  near  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  never  opens  his  lips."  But  his  indifference 
and  silence  were  not  to  last  long. 

When  the  Divorce  Bill,  which  originated  in 
the  Lords,  came  up  in  the  Commons,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone made  an  impassioned  speech  against  the 
measure,  contending  for  the  equality  of  woman 
with  man  in  all  the  rights  pertaining  to  mar- 
riage. He  dealt  with  the  question  on  theological, 
legal  and  social  grounds.  He  contended  that 
marriage  was  not  only  or  chiefly  a  civil  contract, 
but  a  * 'mystery"  of  the  Christian  religion.  By 
the  law  of  God  it  could  not  be  so  annulled  as  to 
permit  of  the  re-marriage  of  the  parties.  "Our 
Lord,"  he  says,  "  has  emphatically  told  us  that, 
at  and  from  the  beginning,  marriage  was  per- 
petual, and  was  on  both  sides  single."  He  dwelt 
with  pathetic  force  on  the  injustice  between  man 
and  woman  of  the  proposed  legislation,  which 
would  entitle  the  husband  to  divorce  from  an  un- 
faithful wife,  but  would  give  no  corresponding  pro- 
tection to  the  woman ;  and  predicted  the  gloomiest 
consequences  to  the  conjugal  morality  of  the 
country  from  the  erection  of  this  new  and  odious 
tribunal.     Nevertheless  the  bill  became  a  law. 


In  Opposition  to  the  Government        351 

In  1858  a  bill  was  introduced  in  tlie  House 
of  Commons  by  Lord  Palmerston,  to  make  con- 
spiracy to  murder  a  felony.  It  grew  out  of  the 
attempt  of  Orsini  upon  tlie  life  of  Napoleon  III. 
The  bill  at  first  was  carried  by  an  immense 
majority,  but  the  conviction  spread  that  the 
measure  was  introduced  solely  at  the  dictation  of 
the  French  Emperor,  and  hence  the  proposal 
was  strongly  opposed.  Mr.  Gladstone  said: 
"  These  times  are  grave  for  Jiberty.  We  live  in 
the  nineteenth  century ;  we  talk  of  progress ; 
we  believe  we  are  advancing,  but  can  any  man 
of  observation  who  has  watched  the  events  of  the 
last  few  years  in  Europe  have  failed  to  perceive 
that  there  is  a  movement  indeed,  but  a  downward 
and  backward  movement  ?  There  are  few  spots 
in  which  institutions  that  claim  our  sympathy 
still  exist  and  flourish.  *  *  *  But  in  these 
times  more  than  ever  does  responsibility  centre 
upon  the  institutions  of  England,  and  if  it  does 
centre  upon  England,  upon  her  principles,  upon 
her  laws  and  upon  her  governors,  then  I  say  that 
a  measure  passed  by  this  House  of  Commons — 
the  chief  hope  of  freedom — which  attempts  to 
establish  a  moral  complicity  between  us  and 
those  who  seek  safety  in  repressive  measures, 
will  be  a  blow  and  a  discouragement  to  that 
sacred  cause  in  every  country  in  the  world." 

The  bill  was  defeated  by  a  majority  of  nine- 
teen, and  Lord  Palmerston  again  resigned.     He 


352  William  E.  Gladstone 

was  succeeded  by  Lord  Derby,  who  once  more 
came  into  power.  Mr.  Disraeli  again  became 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and  leader  of  the 
House  of  Commons.  The  new  ministry,  which 
existed  largely  on  suflferance,  passed  some  good 
measures. 

The  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
battle  of  Plassey  was  celebrated  in  England 
June  23,  1857,  to  obtain  funds  for  a  monument 
to  Lord  Clive,  who  secured  India  to  England. 
The  English  then  felt  secure  in  the  government 
of  that  land,  yet  at  that  very  time  one  of  the 
most  wide-spread,  destructive  and  cruel  rebellions 
was  raging,  and  shaking  to  its  very  foundations 
the  English  rule  in  Hindostan.  Suddenly  the 
news  came  of  the  terrible  Indian  mutiny  and  of 
the  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  men,  women  and 
children,  filling  all  hearts  with  horror,  and  then 
of  the  crushing  out  of  the  rebellion.  Lord  Can- 
ning, Governor-General,  issued  a  proclamation 
to  the  chiefs  of  Oudh,  looking  to  the  confiscation 
of  the  possessions  of  mutineers  who  failed  to 
return  to  the  allegiance  of  England.  It  was 
meant  as  clemency.  But  Lord  Ellenborough,  the 
officer  in  charge  of  affairs  in  India,  dispatched  "  a 
rattling  condemnation  of  the  whole  proceeding." 
Says  Justin  McCarthy :  ^^  It  was  absurd  language 
for  a  man  like  Lord  Ellenborough  to  address  to 
a  statesman  like  Lord  Canning,  who  had  just 
succeeded    in    keeping    the    fabric   of    English 


IN  Opposition  to  the  Government        353 

government  in  India  together  during  tlie  most 
terrible  trial  ever  imposed  on  it  by  fate."  The 
matter  was  taken  up  by  Parliament.  Lord 
Shaftesbury  moved  that  the  Lords  disprove  the 
senduig  of  the  dispatch.  In  the  Commons  the 
ministry  were  arraigned.  But  Lord  EHenbor- 
ough  took  upon  himself  the  sole  responsibility  of 
the  dispatch,  and  resigned.  Mr.  Gladstone  was 
invited  to  the  vacant  place,  but  declined. 

The  most  important  among  the  bills  passed 
by  Parliament  was  the  India  Bill,  by  which  the 
government  of  India  was  transferred  from  the 
East  India  Company  to  the  Crown  and  the  Home 
government.  Mr.  Gladstone,  who  opposed  the 
bill,  proposed  a  clause  providing  that  the  Indian 
troops  should  not  be  employed  in  military  opera- 
tions beyond  the  frontiers  of  India. 

In  November,  1858,  Mr.  Gladstone  accepted 
from  the  Premier  the  post  of  Lord  High  Com- 
missioner Extraordinary  to  the  Ionian  Islands. 
The  people  of  the  Ionian  Islands,  which  in  1800 
was  formed  into  the  Republic  of  the  Seven 
Islands,  and  was  under  the  protection  of  Great 
Britain  from  18 15,  were  desirous  of  adding  them- 
selves to  Greece.  But  the  British  government 
objected  to  the  separation  and  their  union  with 
Greece.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  to  repair  to  Corfu 
for  the  purpose  of  reconciling  the  people  to  the 
British  protectorate.  The  lonians  regarded  his 
appointment  as   a  virtual   abandonment  of  the 


354  William  E.  Gladstone 

protectorate  of  Great  Britain.  Mr.  Gladstone, 
December  3d,  addressed  the  Senate  at  Corfu  in 
Italian.  He  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  Greek 
student,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  Islands  per- 
sisted in  regarding  him  not  as  a  Commissioner 
of  a  Conservative  English  Government,  but  as 
"  Gladstone  the  Phil-Hellene ! "  He  made  a  tour 
of  the  Islands,  holding  levees,  receiving  deputa- 
tions and  delivering  harangues,  and  was  received 
wherever  he  went  with  the  honors  due  to  a 
liberator.  His  path  everywhere  was  made  to 
seem  like  a  triumphal  progress.  It  was  in  vain 
he  repeated  his  assurance  that  he  came  to  recon- 
cile them  to  the  protectorate  and  not  to  deliver 
them  from  it.  But  the  popular  instinct  insisted 
upon  regarding  him  as  at  least  the  precursor  of 
their  union  with  the  Kingdom  of  Greece.  The 
legislative  assembly  met  January  27,  1859,  and 
proposed  annexation  to  Greece.  Finding  that 
this  was  their  firm  wish  and  determination, 
Mr.  Gladstone  despatched  to  the  Queen  a  copy 
of  the  vote,  in  which  the  representatives  declared 
that  "the  single  and  unanimous  will  of  the 
Ionian  people  has  been  and  is  for  their  union 
with  the  Kingdom  of  Greece."  Mr.  Gladstone 
returned  home  in  February,  1859.  The  lonians 
continued  their  agitation,  and  in  1864  were 
formally  given  over  to  the  government  of  Greece. 
Parliament  was  opened  February  3,  1859, 
by  the  Queen,  who  in  her  speech  from  the  throne 


In  Opposition  to  the  Government        355 

said  tliat  the  attention  of  Parliament  would  be 
called  to  the  state  of  the  law  regulating  the 
representation  of  the  people.  The  plan  of  the 
government  was  presented  by  Mr.  Disraeli.  "  It 
was  a  fanciful  performance,"  says  an  English 
writer.  The  ministry  proposed  not  to  alter  the 
limits  of  the  franchise,  but  to  introduce  into 
boroughs  a  new  kind  of  franchise  founded  on 
personal  property.  Mr.  Disraeli  characterized 
the  government  measure  as  "wise,  prudent, 
adequate,  conservative,  and  framed  by  men  who 
reverence  the  past,  are  proud  of  the  present,  and 
confident  of  the  future."  Two  members  of  the 
Cabinet  promptly  resigned  rather  than  be  parties 
to  these  proposals.  Mr.  Bright  objected  because 
the  working  classes  were  excluded.  An  amend- 
ment was  moved  by  Lord  John  Russell  con- 
demning interference  with  the  franchise  which 
enabled  freeholders  in  boroughs  to  vote  in 
counties,  and  demanding  a  wider  extension  of 
the  suffrage  in  boroughs. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  though  agreeing  with  these 
views,  declined  to  support  the  amendment,  be- 
cause, if  carried,  it  would  upset  the  government 
and  bring  in  a  weaker  administration.  He  did 
not  propose  to  support  the  government,  but  he 
desired  to  see  a  settlement  of  the  question  of 
reform,  and  he  thought  the  present  opportunity 
advantageous  for  such  settlement.  He  pleaded 
eloquently  for  the  retention  of  the  small  boroughs. 


35^  William  E.  Gladstone 

THe  bill  was  lost  by  a  majority  of  tliirty- 
nine.  Lord  Derby  having  advised  the  Queen  to 
dissolve  Parliament,  this  was  done  April  3d. 
The  general  elections  which  resulted  from  the 
defeat  of  the  Conservatives  in  the  House  of 
Commons  on  the  Reform  Bill,  resulted  in  return- 
ing the  Liberals  with  a  considerable  majority. 
Mr.  Gladstone  was  again  returned  unopposed  for 
the  University  of  Oxford.  The  Queen  opened 
the  new  Parliament  June  7th.  In  reply  to  the 
speech  from  the  throne  an  amendment  to  the 
address  was  moved  by  Lord  Hartington,  propos- 
ing a  vote  of  want  of  confidence  in  the  ministers. 
After  three  nights  debate  it  was  carried  on 
June  loth,  by  a  majority  of  thirteen,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone voting  with  the  government.  Lord  Derby 
and  his  colleagues  immediately  resigned.  The 
Queen  being  averse  to  choosing  between  Lord 
John  Russell  and  Lord  Palmerston,  turned  to 
Lord  Granville,  leader  of  the  Liberal  party  in 
the  House  of  Lords.  He  failed  to  form  a  Cabi- 
net, and  Lord  Palmerston  again  became  Prime 
Minister. 

The  revolution  of  the  political  wheel  once 
more  brought  Mr.  Gladstone  into  office  as 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  It  became  neces- 
sary in  accepting  a  Cabinet  position  to  again 
appeal  to  his  constituents  at  Oxford  for  re-elec- 
tion. He  voted  as  he  did  to  sustain  Lord  Derby's 
administration  and  to  settle  the  Reform  question, 


IN  OPPOSITION  TO  THE  GOVERNMENT         357 

yet  he  was  misunderstood  and  some  of  his  con- 
stituents alienated.  He  was  strongly  opposed  by 
the  Conservative  Marquis  of  Chandos.  The 
Conservatives  claimed  that  he  should  not  be 
returned,  because,  as  Professor  Mansel  said,  by 
his  "acceptance  of  office  he  must  now  be  con- 
sidered as  giving  his  definite  adhesion  to  the 
Liberal  party,  as  at  present  reconstructed,  and 
as  approving  of  the  policy  of  those  who  overthrew 
Lord  Derby's  government."  It  was  found  on 
the  conclusion  of  the  poll,  which  continued  for 
five  days,  that  Mr.  Gladstone  was  returned  with 
a  majority  of  nearly  two  hundred  over  his 
opponent.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  this  same 
year  Cambridge  conferred  upon  Mr.  Gladstone 
the  honorary  degree  of  D.  C.  L. 


CHAPTER  XII 

Homeric  Studies 

//^^^HE  plenitude  and  variety  of  Mr.  Glad- 
^  J        stone's  intellectual  powers,"  says  G. 
^^r  Barnett  Smith,  "have  been  the  subject 

of  such  frequent  comment  that  it  would 
be  superfluous  to  insist  upon  them 
here.  On  the  political  side  of  his  career  his  life 
has  been  as  unresting  and  active  as  that  of  any 
other  great  party  leader,  and  if  we  regard  him  in 
the  literary  aspect  we  are  equally  astonished  at 
his  energy  and  versatility.  Putting  out  of  view 
his  various  works  upon  Homer,  his  miscellaneous 
writings  of  themselves,  with  the  reading  they 
involve,  would  entitle  their  author  to  take  high 
rank  on  the  score  of  industry.  *  *  *  We 
stand  amazed  at  the  infinity  of  topics  which 
have  received  Mr.  Gladstone's  attention." 

To  solve  the  problems  associated  with  Homer 
has  been  the  chief  intellectual  recreation,  the  close 
and  earnest  study  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  literary  life. 
"The  blind  old  man  of  Scio's  rocky  isle"  pos- 
sessed for  him  an  irresistible  and  a  perennial 
358 


Homeric  Studies  359 

charm.  Nor  can  this  occasion  surprise,  for  all 
who  have  given  themselves  np  to  the  considera- 
tion and  attempted  solution  of  the  Homeric 
poems  have  found  the  fascination  of  the  occupa- 
tion gather  in  intensity.  It  is  not  alone  from 
the  poetic  point  of  view  that  the  first  great  epic 
of  the  world  attracts  students  of  all  ages  and  of 
all  countries.  Homer  presents,  in  addition,  and 
beyond  every  other  writer,  a  vast  field  for  ethno- 
logical, geographical,  and  historical  speculation 
and  research.  The  ancient  world  stands  re- 
vealed in  the  Homeric  poems.  Besides,  almost 
numberless  volumes  have  been  written  based 
upon  the  equally  debatable  questions  of  the 
Homeric  text  and  the  Homeric  unity. 

Some  literary  works  of  Mr.  Gladstone  have 
been  already  noticed.  "  Studies  on  Homer  and 
Homeric  Age"  shows  Mr.  Gladstone's  classic 
tastes  and  knowledge  as  well  as  his  great  indus- 
try and  ability.  This  work  was  published  in 
three  volumes,  in  1858.  It  is  his  magnum  opus 
in  literature,  and  exhibits  wide  and  laborious 
research.  "  It  discusses  the  Homeric  contro- 
versy in  its  broad  aspects,  the  relation  of  Homer 
to  the  Sacred  Writings,  his  place  in  education, 
his  historic  aims,  the  probable  period  of  the  poet's 
life,  the  Homeric  text,  the  ethnology  of  the  Greek 
races,  and  the  politics  and  poetry  of  Homer. 
Among  subsequent  Greek  studies  by  Mr.  Glad- 
stone   were    his     ^  Juventus    Mundi '    and    the 


36o  William  E.  Gladstone 

^  Homeric  Synclironism.'  There  is  probably  no 
greater  living  anthority  on  the  text  of  Homer 
than  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  the  Ancient  Greek  race 
and  literature  have  exercised  over  him  a  per- 
ennial fascination." 

Mr.  Gladstone  dwells  much  on  the  relation 
of  Homer  to  Christianity.  "  The  standard  of 
humanity  of  the  Greek  poet  is  different,  yet 
many  of  his  ideas  almost  carry  us  back  to  the 
early  morning  of  our  race ;  the  hours  of  its  greater 
simplicity  and  purity,  and  more  free  intercourse 
with  God.  *  *  *  How  is  it  possible  to  over- 
value this  primitive  representation  of  the  human 
race  in  a  form  complete,  distinct  and  separate, 
with  its  own  religion,  stories,  policy,  history, 
arts,  manners,  fresh  and  true  to  the  standard  of 
its  nature,  like  the  form  of  an  infant  from  the 
hand  of  the  Creator,  yet  mature,  full,  and 
finished,  in  its  own  sense,  after  its  own  laws, 
like  some  masterpiece  of  the  sculptor's  art?" 
The  Homeric  scene  of  action  is  not  Paradise, 
but  it  is  just  as  far  removed  from  the  vices  of 
a  later  heathenism. 

Mr.  Gladstone  compares  the  "Iliad"  and  the 
"  Odyssey,"  which  he  believed  to  be  the  poems  of 
one  poet.  Homer,  with  the  Old  Testament  writ- 
ings, and  observes  that  "  Homer  can  never  be  put 
into  competition  with  the  Scriptures  as  touching 
the  great  fundamental,  invaluable  code  of  truth 
and  hope ; "  but  he  shows  how  one  may  in  a  sense 


mI  ^S: 


1^  * '  ^ 


Gladstone  and  His  Granddaughter,  Dorothy  Drew. 


HOMERIC  Studies  363 

be  supplementary  to  the  other.  As  regards  the 
history  of  the  Greek  race,  it  is  Homer  that 
furnishes  "  the  point  of  origin  from  which  all 
distances  are  to  be  measured."  He  says  :  "  The 
Mosaic  books,  and  the  other  historical  books 
of  the  Old  Testament,  are  not  intended  to  pre- 
sent, and  do  not  present,  a  picture  of  human 
society  or  of  our  nature  drawn  at  large.  The 
poems  of  Homer  may  be  viewed  as  the  com- 
plement of  the  earliest  portion  of  the  sacred 
records." 

Again  :  "  The  Holy  Scriptures  are  like  a 
thin  stream,  beginning  from  the  very  fountain- 
head  of  our  race,  and  gradually,  but  continuously, 
finding  their  way  through  an  extended  solitude 
into  times  otherwise  known,  and  into  the  general 
current  of  the  fortunes  of  mankind.  The  Homeric 
poems  are  like  a  broad  lake,  outstretched  in  the 
distance,  which  provides  us  with  a  mirror  of  one 
particular  age  and  people,  alike  full  and  marvel- 
ous, but  which  is  entirely  disassociated  by  a 
period  of  many  generations  from  any  other 
records,  except  such  as  are  of  the  most  partial 
and  fragmentary  kind.  In  respect  of  the  in- 
fluence which  they  have  respectively  exercised 
upon  mankind,  it  might  appear  almost  profane 
to  compare  them.  In  this  point  of  view  the 
Scriptures  stand  so  far  apart  from  every  other 
production,  on  account  of  their  great  offices  in 
relation  to  the  coming  of  the  Redeemer  and  to 


364  William  E.  Gladstone 

the  spiritual  training  of  mankind,  tliat  there  can 
be  nothing  either  like  or  second  to  them." 

Mr.  Gladstone  thinks  that  "the  poems  of 
Homer  possess  extrinsic  worth  as  a  faithful 
and  vivid  picture  of  early  Grecian  life  and 
measures ;  they  have  also  an  intrinsic  value 
which  has  given  their  author  the  first  place  in 
that  marvelous  trinity  of  genius — Homer,  Dante, 
and  Shakespeare." 

As  to  the  historic  aims  of  Homer,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone says  :  "  Where  other  poets  sketch.  Homer 
draws;  and  where  they  draw  he  carves.  He 
alone  of  all  the  now  famous  epic  writers,  moves 
(in  the  "  Iliad  "  especially)  subject  to  the  stricter 
laws  of  time  and  place ;  he  alone,  while  producing 
an  unsurpassed  work  of  the  imagination,  is  also 
the  greatest  chronicler  that  ever  lived,  and  pre- 
sents to  us,  from  his  own  single  hand,  a  represen- 
tation of  life,  manners,  history,  of  morals,  the- 
ology, and  politics,  so  vivid  and  comprehensive, 
that  it  may  be  hard  to  say  whether  any  of  the 
more  refined  ages  of  Greece  or  Rome,  with  their 
clouds  of  authors  and  their  multiplied  forms  of 
historical  record,  are  either  more  faithfully  or 
more  completely  conveyed  to  us." 

Mr.  Gladstone  fixes  the  probable  date  of 
Homer  within  a  generation  or  two  of  the  Trojan 
war,  assigning  as  his  principal  reason  for  so 
doing  the  poet's  visible  identity  with  the  age, 
the  altering  but  not  yet  vanishing  age  of  which 


HOMERIC  Studies  365 

he  sings,  and  the  broad  interval  in  tone  and 
feeling  between  himself  and  the  very  nearest  of 
all  that  follow  him.  He  presents  several  argu- 
ments to  prove  the  trustworthiness  of  the  text 
of  Homer. 

In  1877,  Mr.  Gladstone  wrote  an  article  on 
the  "Dominions  of  the  Odysseus/'  and  also 
wrote  a  preface;  to  Dr.  Henry  Schliemann's 
"  Mycenae." 

One  of  his  most  remarkable  productions 
bore  the  title  of,  "  The  Vatican  Decrees  in  their 
Bearing  on  Civil  Allegiance  ;  a  Political  Expos- 
tulation." This  book  was  an  amplification  of 
an  article  from  his  own  pen,  which  appeared 
October,  1874,  in  the  Contemporary  Review,  It 
created  great  public  excitement  and  many  replies. 
One  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  copies  were 
sold.  Mr.  Higginson  says  :  "The  vigor  of  the 
style,  the  learning  exhibited,  and  the  source 
whence  it  came,  all  contributed  to  give  it  an 
extraordinary  influence.  *  *  *  j|.  ^^^  boldly 
proclaimed  in  this  pamphlet  that,  since  1870, 
Rome  has  substituted  for  the  proud  boast  of 
semper  eadem^  a  policy  of  violence  and  change 
of  faith  J  *  *  *  <  that  she  had  equally  repu- 
diated modern  thought  and  ancient  history ; '  *  *  * 
^  that  she  has  reburnished  and  paraded  anew 
every  rusty  tool  she  was  thought  to  have  dis- 
used,' and  *  that  Rome  requires  a  convert  who 
now  joins  her  to  forfeit  his  moral  and  mental 


366  William  E.  Gladstone 

freedom,  and  to  place  His  loyalty  and  civil  duty 
at  the  mercy  of  another.'  " 

Mr.  Gladstone  issued  another  pamphlet, 
entitled  "  Vaticanism ;  and  Answers  to  Reproofs 
and  Replies."  He  reiterated  his  original  charges, 
saying:  *^The  Vatican  decrees  do,  in  the  strictest 
sense,  establish  for  the  Pope  a  supreme  command 
over  loyalty  and  civil  duty.  *  *  *  Even  in 
those  parts  of  Christendom  where  the  decrees 
and  the  present  attitude  of  the  Papal  See  do  not 
produce  or  aggravate  open  broils  with  the  civil 
power,  by  undermining  moral  liberty,  they 
impair  moral  responsibility,  and  silently,  in  the 
succession  of  generations,  if  not  in  the  lifetime 
of  individuals,  tend  to  emasculate  the  vigor  of 
the  mind." 

Mr.  Gladstone  published  in  seven  volumes, 
in  1879,  "  Gleanings  of  Past  Years."  The  essay 
entitled  "  Kin  Beyond  the  Sea  "  at  first  created 
much  excitement.  "  The  Kin  Beyond  the  Sea  " 
was  America,  of  which  he  says :  "  She  will 
probably  become  what  we  are  now,  the  head 
servant  in  the  great  household  of  the  world,  the 
employer  of  all  employed ;  because  her  services 
will  be  the  most  and  ablest."  Again:  "The 
England  and  the  America  of  the  present  are  prob- 
ably the  two  strongest  nations  in  the  world.  But 
there  can  hardly  be  a  doubt,  as  between  the 
America  and  the  England  of  the  future,  that  the 
daughter,  at   some   no  very  distant  time,  will, 


HOMERIC  Studies  367 

wlietlier  fairer  or  less  fair,  be  unquestionably 
yet  stronger  than  tbe  motber."  Mr.  Gladstone 
argues  in  support  of  tbis  position  from  tbe  con- 
centrated continuous  empire  wbicb  America  pos- 
sesses, and  tbe  enormous  progress  sbe  bas  made 
witbin  a  century. 

In  an  address  at  tbe  opening  of  tbe  Art 
Loan  Exbibition  of  Cbester,  August  11,  1879, 
Mr.  Gladstone  said  :  "  Witb  tbe  Englisb  tbose 
two  tbings  are  quite  distinct ;  but  in  tbe  oldest 
times  of  buman  industry — tbat  is  to  say  amongst 
tbe  Greeks — tbere  was  no  separation  wbatever, 
no  gap  at  all,  between  tbe  idea  of  beauty  and  tbe 
idea  of  utility.  Wbatever  tbe  ancient  Greek 
produced  be  made  as  useful  as  be  could ;  and  at 
tbe  same  time  a  cardinal  law  witb  bim  was  to 
make  it  as  beautiful  as  be  could.  In  tbe  in- 
dustrial productions  of  America  tbere  is  very 
little  idea  of  beauty ;  for  example,  an  Ameri- 
can's axe  is  not  intended  to  cut  away  a 
tree  neatly,  but  quickly.  We  want  a  workman 
to  understand  tbat  if  be  can  learn  to  appreciate 
beauty  in  industrial  productions,  be  is  tbereby 
doing  good  to  bimself,  first  of  all  in  tbe  improve- 
ment of  bis  mind,  and  in  tbe  pleasure  be  derives 
from  bis  work,  and  likewise  tbat  literally  be  is 
increasing  bis  own  capital,  wbicb  is  bis  labor." 

In  bis  articles  on  " Ecce  Homo"  be  expresses 
tbe  bope  "  tbat  tbe  present  tendency  to  treat  tbe 
old  belief  of  man  witb  a  precipitate,  sballow,  and 


368 


William  e.  Gladstone 


tinexamining  disparagement,  is  simply  a  dis- 
temper, that  inflicts  for  a  time  the  moral  atmo- 
sphere, that  is  due,  like  plagues  and  fevers,  to  our 
own  previous  folly  and  neglect;  and  that  when 
it  has  served  its  work  of  admonition  and  reform, 
will  be  allowed  to  pass  away.** 

The  "Impregnable  Rock  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture** is  the  title  of  a  book  by  Mr.  Gladstone, 
the  articles  of  which  were  originally  published  in 
The  Sunday  School  Times,  Philadelphia. 


MR.  GLADSTONE'S  At>V 


HWSXig^  \^    'Mir    '■  - 

te; 

i^- 

^^'^Bm^^^^^ 

>7^^^^ 

^im^rn^-^ 

CHAPTER  XIII 
Great  Budgets 

^^■^Tf  HE  year  i860  marked  the  beginning  of 

^  J        the  second  half  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  life 

^^r  as   a   statesman,   in  which   he   stood 

prominently   forward   as  a  Reformer. 

Jnly  18,  1859,  as  Chancellor    in  the 

Liberal    government    of    Lord    Palmerston,   he 

brought  forward  his  budget.    The  budget  of  i860 

was  the  greatest  of  all  his  financial  measures,  for 

a  new  departure  was  taken  in  British  commerce 

and  manufactures.     Mr.  Cobden,  in  behalf  of  the 

English  Government,  had  negotiated  with  France 

a  treaty  based  on  free  trade  principles — "  a  treaty 

which   gave   an   impetus   to   the   trade   of   this 

country,  whose  far-reaching  eflfects  are  felt  even 

to  our  day." 

The  Chancellor  explained  the  various  propo- 
sitions of  his  financial  statements.  Speaking 
of  discontent  with  the  income  tax  he  observed : 
"  I  speak  on  general  terms.  Indeed,  I  now 
remember  that  I  myself  had,  about  a  fortnight 
ago,  a  letter  addressed  to  me  complaining  of  the 

369 


370  William  E.  Gladstone 

monstrous  injustice  and  iniquity  of  the  income 
tax,  and  proposing  that,  in  consideration  thereof, 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  should  be 
publicly  hanged." 

Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  the  total  reduction 
of  duties  would  be  over  ;^i, 000,000,  requiring  a 
slight  extension  of  taxation  ;  that  by  this  means 
nearly  ;^  1,000,000  would  be  returned  to  the 
general  revenue ;  that  the  loss  to  the  revenue  by 
the  French  Treaty,  which  was  based  upon  free 
trade  principles,  and  the  reduction  of  duties, 
would  be  half  made  up  by  the  imposts  specified ; 
that  the  abolition  of  the  paper  duty  would  pro- 
duce the  happiest  results  from  the  spread  of 
cheap  literature.  The  reductions  proposed  would 
give  a  total  relief  to  the  consumer  of  nearly 
^4,000,000,  and  cause  a  net  loss  of  the  revenue 
of  over  ^2,000,000,  a  sum  about  equivalent  to 
the  amount  coming  in  from  the  cessation  of 
government  annuities  that  year.  The  total 
revenue  was  ^70,564,000,  and  as  the  total 
expenses  of  government  was  ;^70,ooo,ooo,  there 
remained  an  estimated  surplus  of  ^464,000, 

Mr.  Gladstone  concluded :  "  There  were 
times,  now  long  by,  when  sovereigns  made  pro- 
gress through  the  land,  and  when  at  the  procla- 
mation of  their  heralds,  they  caused  to  be  scat- 
tered whole  showers  of  coin  among  the  people 
who  thronged  upon  their  steps.  *  *  *  Our 
Sovereign  is  enabled,  through  the  wisdom  of  her 


Great  Budgets  371 

great  council,  assembled  in  Parliament  around 
her,  again  to  scatter  blessings  among  ber  sub- 
jects by  means  of  wise  and  prudent  laws;  of  laws 
whicb  do  not  sap  in  any  respect  tbe  foundations 
of  duty  or  of  manbood,  but  wbicb  strike  away 
the  sbackles  from  the  arm  of  industry." 

"  It  was  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's budget  addresses  that  they  roused  curiosity 
in  the  outset,  and,  being  delivered  in  a  musical, 
sonorous,  and  perfectly  modulated  voice,  kept  the 
listeners  interested  to  the  very  close.  This 
financial  statement  of  i860  was  admirably 
arranged  for  the  purpose  of  awakening  and  keep- 
ing attention,  piquing  and  teasing  curiosity,  and 
sustaining  desire  to  hear  from  the  first  sentence 
to  the  last.  It  was  not  a  speech,  it  was  an 
oration,  in  the  form  of  a  great  State  paper,  made 
eloquent,  in  which  there  was  a  proper  restraint 
over  the  crowding  ideas,  the  most  exact  accuracy  in 
the  sentences,  and  even  in  the  very  words  chosen ; 
the  most  perfect  balancing  of  parts,  and,  more 
than  all,  there  were  no  errors  or  omissions ;  noth- 
ing was  put  wrongly  and  nothing  was  overlooked. 
With  a  House  crowded  in  every  corner,  with  the 
strain  upon  his  own  mental  faculties,  and  the 
great  physical  tax  implied  in  the  management  of 
his  voice,  and  the  necessity  for  remaining  upon 
his  feet  during  this  long  period,  ^  the  observed  of 
all  observers,'  Mr.  Gladstone  took  all  as  quietly, 
we  are  told,  as  if  he  had  just  risen  to  address  a 


372  William  E.  Gladstone 

few  observations  to  Mr.  Speaker.  Indeed,  it  was 
laughingly  said  that  lie  could  address  a  House 
for  a  whole  week,  and  on  the  Friday  evening 
have  taken  a  new  departure,  beginning  with  the 
observation,  ^  After  these  preliminary  remarks,  I 
will  now  proceed  to  deal  with  the  subject  matter 
of  my  financial  plan.'  " 

The  ministry  was  supported  by  large  ma- 
jorities, and  carried  their  measures,  but  when 
the  bill  for  the  repeal  of  the  duty  on  paper  at 
home,  as  well  as  coming  into  the  country,  came 
before  the  House  of  Lords,  it  was  rejected. 
Mr.  Gladstone  appeared  to  be  confronted  by  the 
greatest  constitutional  crisis  of  his  life.  He 
gave  vent  to  his  indignation,  and  declared  that 
the  action  of  the  Lords  was  a  gigantic  innovation, 
and  that  the  House  of  Commons  had  the  un- 
doubted right  of  selecting  the  manner  in  which 
the  people  should  be  taxed.  This  speech  was 
pronounced  by  Lord  John  Russell  "  magnificently 
mad,"  and  Lord  Granville  said  that  '4t  was  a 
toss-up  whether  Gladstone  resigned  or  not,  and 
that  if  he  did  it  would  break  up  the  Liberal 
party."  Quiet  was  finally  restored,  and  the 
following  year  Mr.  Gladstone  adroitly  brought 
the  same  feature  before  the  Lords  in  a  way 
that  compelled  acceptance. 

The  budget  of  1861  showed  a  surplus  of 
^2,000,000  over  the  estimated  surplus,  and  pro- 
posed to  remit  the  penny  on  the  income  tax,  and 


Great  Budgets  373 

to  repeal  tlie  paper  duty.  Instead  of  being  divided 
into  several  bills  as  in  the  previous  year,  tbe 
budget  was  presented  as  a  whole — all  included 
in  one.  By  tbis  device  the  Lords  were  forced 
to  acquiesce  in  the  repeal  of  the  paper  duty, 
or  take  the  responsibility  of  rejecting  the 
whole  bill.  The  Peers  grumbled,  and  some  of 
them  were  enraged.  Lord  Robert  Cecil,  now 
Marquis  of  Salisbury,  rudely  declared  that 
Mr.  Gladstone's  conduct  was  only  worthy  of  an 
attorney.  He  begged  to  apologize  to  the  attor- 
neys. They  were  honorable  men  and  would  have 
scorned  the  course  pursued  by  the  ministers. 
Another  member  of  the  House  of  Lords  protested 
that  the  budget  gave  a  mortal  stab  to  the  Con- 
stitution. Mr.  Gladstone  retorted :  "I  want  to 
know,  to  what  Constitution  does  it  give  a  mortal 
stab  ?  In  my  opinion  it  gives  no  mortal  stab,  and 
no  stab  at  all,  to  any  Constitution  that  we  are 
bound  to  care  for.  But,  on  the  contrary,  so  far 
as  it  alters  anything  in  the  most  recent  course 
of  practice,  it  alters  in  the  direction  of  restoring 
that  good  old  Constitution  which  took  its  root  in 
Saxon  times,  which  grew  from  the  Plantagenets, 
which  endured  the  iron  repression  of  the  Tudors, 
which  resisted  the  aggressions  of  the  Stuarts,  and 
which  has  come  to  its  full  maturity  under  the 
House  of  Brunswick.  I  think  that  is  the  Con- 
stitution, if  I  may  presume  to  say  so,  which  it  is 
our  duty  to   guard,  and   which — ^if,  indeed^  the 


374  William  E.  Gladstone 

proceedings  of  this  year  can  be  said  to  affect  it  at 
all — will  be  all  tbe  better  for  tbe  operation.  But 
the  Constitution  which  my  right  honorable  friend 
worships  is  a  very  different  affair." 

In  i860,  Mr.  Gladstone  was  elected  Lord 
Rector  of  Edinburgh  University,  and  the  degree 
of  LL.  D.  was  conferred  upon  him. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  in  1861,  introduced  one  of 
his  most  beneficial  measures — a  bill  creating  the 
Post  Office  Savings  Bank.  The  success  of  the 
scheme  has  gone  beyond  all  expectation.  At 
the  close  of  1891,  the  amount  deposited  was 
^71,608,002,  and  growing  at  the  average  rate 
of  over  ^^4 ,000,000  annually. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  financial  measures  for  1862, 
while  not  involving  such  momentous  issues  as 
those  of  the  preceding  year,  nevertheless  en- 
countered considerable  opposition.  The  budget 
was  a  stationary  one,  with  no  surplus,  no  new 
taxes,  no  remission  of  taxes,  no  heavier  burdens. 

In  October,  1862,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gladstone 
made  a  journey  down  the  Tyne,  which  is  thus 
described  :  ^'  It  was  not  possible  to  show  to  royal 
visitors  more  demonstrations  of  honor  than  were 
showered  on  the  illustrious  Commoner  and  his 
wife.  *  *  *  At  every  point,  at  every  bank 
and  hill  and  factory,  in  every  opening  where 
people  could  stand  or  climb,  expectant  crowds 
awaited  Mr.  Gladstone's  arrival.  Women  and 
children,  in  all  costumes  and  of  all  conditions, 


Great  Budgets  375 

lined  the  shores  *  *  *  as  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Glad- 
stone passed.  Cannon  boomed  from  every  point ; 
*  *  *  such  a  succession  of  cannonading  never 
before  greeted  a  triumphant  conqueror  on  the 
march." 

It  was  during  this  journey  that  Mr.  Glad- 
stone made  the  memorable  speech,  at  New- 
Castle,  upon  the  American  Civil  War,  which  had 
broken  out  the  same  year.  There  had  been 
much  speculation  as  to  whether  the  English 
government  would  recognize  the  Confederacy  as 
a  separate  and  independent  power,  and  the 
utterance  of  a  member  of  the  Cabinet  under  the 
circumstances  was  regarded  as  entirely  unwar- 
ranted. Mr.  Gladstone  himself  frankly  ac- 
knowledged his  error  in  1867  :  "  I  must  confess 
that  I  was  wrong ;  that  I  took  too  much  upon 
myself  in  expressing  such  an  opinion.  Yet  the 
motive  was  not  bad.  My  sympathies  were  then — 
where  they  had  long  before  been,  where  they  are 
now — with  the  whole  American  people." 

The  session  of  1863  was  barren  of  important 
subjects  of  debate,  and  hence  unusual  interest 
was  centered  in  the  Chancellor's  statement, 
which  was  another  masterly  financial  presenta- 
tion, and  its  leading  propositions  were  cordially 
received.  The  whole  reduction  of  taxation  for 
the  year  was  ;^3, 340,000,  or  counting  the  total 
reductions,  present  and  prospective,  of  ^4,601,- 
000.     This  still  left  a  surplus  of  ^400,000. 


376  William  E.  Gladstone 

In  four  years  ;^8 ,000,000  liad  been  paid  for 
war  with  China  out  of  the  ordinary  revenues. 
A  proposition  to  subject  charities  to  the  income 
tax,  although  endorsed  by  the  whole  cabinet, 
led  to  such  powerful  opposition  throughout  the 
country  that  it  was  finally  withdrawn.  The 
arguments  of  the  Chancellor  were  endorsed  by 
many  who  were  opposed  to  the  indiscriminate 
and  mistaken  beneficence  which  was  so  prevalent 
on  death-beds. 

A  bill  was  introduced  at  this  session  by 
Sir  Morton  Peto,  entitled  the  "  Dissenters'  Burial 
Bill,"  the  object  of  which  was  to  enable  Non- 
conformists to  have  their  own  religious  rites  and 
services,  and  by  their  own  ministers,  in  the 
graveyards  of  the  Established  Church.  The  bill 
was  strongly  opposed  by  Lord  Robert  Cecil  and 
Mr.  Disraeli.  Mr.  Gladstone  favored  the  meas- 
ure. The  bill  was  rejected,  and  Mr.  Gladstone 
at  a  later  period  discovered  that  his  progress  in 
ecclesiastical  and  political  opinions  was  creating 
a  breach  between  himself  and  his  constituents 
at  Oxford. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  financial  scheme  for  1864 
was  received  with  undiminished  interest.  It  was 
characterized  as  "  a  policy  of  which  peace,  prog- 
ress and  retrenchment  were  the  watchwords." 
An  available  surplus  of  ;^2, 2 60,000  enabled  him 
to  propose  reductions, 


Great  budgets  377 

The  subject  of  reform,  which  had  been  com- 
ing up  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  one  way 
or  another  and  agitating  the  House  and  the 
country  since  1859,  when  the  Conservative  party 
was  beaten  on  the  question,  reappeared  in  1864. 
The  question  of  lowering  the  borough  franchise 
came  up,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  startled  the  House 
and  the  country  by  his  declaration  upon  the  subject 
of  reform,  which  showed  the  rapid  development 
of  his  views  upon  the  subject.  The  Conservative 
party  was  filled  with  alarm,  and  the  hopes  of  the 
Reform  party  correspondingly  elated.  "The 
eyes  of  all  Radical  Reformers  turned  to  Mr. 
Gladstone  as  the  future  Minister  of  Reform  in 
Church  and  State.  He  became  from  the  same 
moment  an  object  of  distrust,  and  something 
approaching  to  detestation  in  the  eyes  of  all 
steady-going  Conservatives." 

Mr.  Gladstone  said :  "I  say  that  every  man 
who  is  not  presentably  incapacitated  by  some 
consideration  of  personal  unfitness  or  political 
danger,  is  morally  entitled  to  come  within  the 
pale  of  the  constitution."  This  declaration  was 
the  first  note  sounded  in  a  conflict  which,  twelve 
months  later,  was  to  cost  Mr.  Gladstone  his  seat 
for  Oxford  University,  and  finally  to  culminate  in 
the  disruption  of  the  Liberal  Government.  The 
general  feeling  in  regard  to  this  speech  was  that 
if  the  Liberal  party  had  failed  in  its  duty  on  the 
subject  of  reform  in  the  existing  Parliament  after 


378  William  E.  Gladstone 

Mr.  Gladstone's  utterances,  that  tlie  condition  of 
things  must  undergo  a  change,  so  great  was  the 
effect  of  his  speech  in  the  country.  The  bill, 
which  was  presented^  by  a  private  member  and 
lost,  was  made  memorable  by  the  speech  of  the 
Chancellor.  The  eyes  of  careful  political  leaders 
were  again  turned  towards  Mr.  Gladstone,  and 
strong  predictions  made  of  his  coming  exaltation 
to  the  Premiership.  Mr.  Speaker  Denison  said, 
in  October,  1864:  ''I  now  anticipate  that  Mr. 
Gladstone  will  be  Premier.  Neither  party  has 
any  leader.  I  hope  Mr.  Gladstone  may  get  sup- 
port from  the  Conservatives  who  now  support 
Palmerston."  And  these  expectations  were 
kown  to  Mr.  Gladstone  himself,  for  Bishop  Wil- 
berforce  had  a  conversation  with  hira  and  writes  : 
"  Long  talk  with  Gladstone  as  to  Premiership : 
he  is  for  acting  under  John  Russell."  Again  to 
Mr.  Gladstone :  "  Anything  which  breaks  up,  or 
tends  to  break  up,  Palmerston's  supremacy,  must 
bring  you  nearer  to  the  post  in  which  I  long  to 
see  you,  and,  if  I  live,  shall  see  you,"  Lord 
Palmerston  himself  said  :  "  Gladstone  will  soon 
have  it  all  his  own  way ;  and  whenever  he  gets 
my  place  we  shall  have  strange  things." 

The  hostile  feeling  towards  the  Palmerston 
government,  which  had  been  growing  in  intensity, 
chiefly  on  the  ground  of  its  foreign  policy,  reached 
its  full  height  in  a  fierce  battle  between  the 
Ministry  and  the   Opposition.      July  4,    1864, 


Great  Budgets  381 

Mr.  Disraeli  brought  forward  His  motion  of  "no 
confidence."  Mr.  Gladstone  replied  for  the  gov- 
ernment, and  sought  to  rebut  the  accusations 
made  by  the  leader  of  the  Opposition,  He  said 
that  it  was  the  very  first  time  in  which  the  House 
of  Commons  had  been  called  upon  to  record  the 
degradation  of  the  country,  simply  for  the  sake 
of  displacing  a  ministry. 

An  amusing  episode  which  occurred  during 
this  debate  is  worthy  of  record  here ;  Mr.  Bernard 
Osborne  "grew  amusingly  sarcastic  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  government,  though  he  paid  at 
the  same  time  a  great  compliment  to  Mr.  Glad- 
stone. He  likened  the  Cabinet  to  a  museum  of 
curiosities,  in  which  there  were  some  birds  of 
rare  and  noble  plumage,  both  alive  and  stuffed. 
There  had  been  a  difficulty,  unfortunately, 
in  keeping  up  the  breed,  and  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  cross  it  with  the  famous  Peelites.  ^  I  will 
do  them  the  justice  to  say  that  they  have  a  very 
great  and  noble  Minister  among  them  in  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and  it  is  to  his 
measures  alone  that  they  owe  the  little  popu- 
larity and  the  little  support  they  get  from  this 
Liberal  party.'  Describing  Mr.  Milner  Gibson, 
the  honorable  gentleman  said  he  was  like  some 
*  fly  in  amber,'  and  the  wonder  was  *  how  the 
devil  he  got  there.'  Mr.  Cobden  and  Mr.  Bright 
must  have  been  disappointed  in  this  ^  young  man 
from  the  country,'    He  had  become  insolent  and 


382  William  E.  Gladstone 

almost  quarrelsome  under  the  guidance  of  the 
noble  lord.  Should  that  Parliament  decide  on 
terminating  its  own  and  their  existence,  they 
would  find  consolation  that  the  funeral  oration 
would  be  pronounced  by  Mr.  Newdegate,  and  that 
some  friendly  hand  would  inscribe  on  their  mau- 
soleum, ^  Rest  and  be  thankful.'  "  Mr.  Disraeli's 
motion  was  lost,  and  the  ministry  was  sustained. 
The  budget  of  1865  represented  the  country 
as  in  a  prosperous  financial  condition.  The  total 
reduction  was  over  ^^5, 000,000.  Such  a  financial 
showing  gained  the  warm  approval  of  the  people, 
and  excited  but  little  opposition  in  the  House. 
It  was  evident  that  a  master-hand  was  guiding 
the  national  finances,  and  fortunately  the  Chan- 
cellor's calculations  were  verified  by  the  contin- 
ued prosperity  of  the  country.  At  a  later  period, 
in  commenting  upon  the  policy  of  the  two  parties 
— Conservative  and  Liberal — Mr.  Gladstone  said : 
"  From  thence  it  follows  that  the  policy  of  the 
Liberal  party  has  been  to  reduce  the  public 
charges  and  to  keep  the  expenditure  within  the 
estimates,  and,  as  a  result,  to  diminish  the  tax- 
ation of  the  country  and  the  national  debt ;  that 
the  policy  of  the  Tory  government,  since  they 
took  office  in  1866,  has  been  to  increase  the  public 
charges,  and  to  allow  the  departments  to  spend 
more  than  their  estimates,  and,  as  a  result,  to  create 
deficits  and  to  render  the  reduction  of  taxation  im- 
possible,    Which  policy  will  the  country  prefer  ? '  ■ 


CHAPTER  XIV 
Liberal  Reformer  and  Prime  Minister 

/lUIvY,  1865,  Parliament  having  run  its 
^  f  y  allotted  course,  according  to  the  consti- 
^3^  tution,  was  dissolved,  and  a  general 
f^g  election  took  place,  whicli  resulted  in 
the  Liberal  party  being  returned  again 
with  a  majority.  Mr.  Gladstone's  relations  with 
many  of  his  constituents  were  not  harmonious, 
owing  to  his  pronounced  Liberal  views,  and  his 
seat  for  Oxford  was  seriously  imperilled.  Mr. 
Gathorne  Hardy  was  nominated  to  run  against 
him.  The  High  Tory  party  resolved  to  defeat 
him,  and  he  was  defeated  by  a  majority  of 
180.  "  The  electors  preferred  the  uncompromis- 
ing defender  of  the  Church  and  Toryism  to  the 
brilliant  statesman  and  financier."  Almost  all 
of  the  distinguished  residents  of  Oxford  and 
three-fourths  of  the  tutors  and  lecturers  of  the 
University  voted  for  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  his 
rejection  was  entirely  owing  to  the  opposing 
vote  of  non-residents  and  the  bigotry  of  the 
hostile    country  clergymen  of   the  Church  of 

383 


384  William  E.  Gladstone 

England.  From  the  Bishop  of  Oxford  Mr. 
Gladstone  received  the  following  indignant 
protest : 

"  I  cannot  forbear  expressing  to  you  my 
grief  and  indignation  at  the  result.  It  is  need- 
less for  me  to  say  that  everything  I  could  with 
propriety  do  I  did  heartily  to  save  our  University 
this  great  loss  and  dishonor,  as  well  from  a  loving 
honor  of  you.     You  were  too  great  for  them." 

"  The  enemies  of  the  University,"  observed 
the  Times ^  "  will  make  the  most  of  her  disgrace. 
It  has  hitherto  been  supposed  that  a  learned 
constituency  was  to  some  extent  exempt  from 
the  vulgar  motives  of  party  spirit,  and  capable  of 
forming  a  higher  estimate  of  statesmanship  than 
common  tradesmen  or  tenant-farmers." 

His  valedictory  address  to  his  former  con- 
stituents was  short :  '^  After  an  arduous  con- 
nection of  eighteen  years,  I  bid  you,  respectfully, 
farewell.  *  *  *  It  is  one  imperative  duty, 
and  one  alone,  which  induces  me  to  trouble  you 
with  these  few  parting  words,  the  duty  of  expres- 
sing my  profound  and  lasting  gratitude  for 
indulgence  as  generous,  and  for  support  as  warm 
and  enthusiastic  in  itself,  and  as  honorable  from 
the  character  and  distinctions  of  those  who  have 
given  it,  as  has,  in  my  belief,  ever  been  accorded 
by  any  constituency  to  any  representative." 

One  event  in  Parliament,  in  1865,  con- 
tributed much  to   Mr.  Gladstone's    defeat:     In 


Liberal  Reformer  and  Prime  Minister      3^5 

March,  1865,  Mr.  Dillwyn,  the  Radical  member 
for  Swansea,  moved  '^  that  the  present  position  of 
the  Irish  Church  Establishment  is  unsatisfactory, 
and  calls  for  the  early  attention  of  her  Majesty ^s 
Government." 

Sir  Stafford  Northcote  wrote :  "  Gladstone 
made  a  terribly  long  stride  in  his  downward  prog- 
ress last  night,  and  denounced  the  Irish  Church 
in  a  way  which  shows  how,  by  and  by,  he  will  deal 
not  only  with  it,  but  with  the  Church  of  England 
too.  *  *  *  He  laid  down  the  doctrines  that 
the  tithe  was  national  property,  and  ought  to  be 
dealt  with  by  the  State  in  a  manner  most  advan- 
tageous to  the  people ;  and  that  the  Church  of 
England  was  only  national  because  the  majority 
of  the  people  still  belong  to  her." 

"  It  was  now  felt  that  henceforth  Mr.  Glad- 
stone must  belong  to  the  country,  and  not  to 
the  University."  He  realized  this  himself,  for 
driven  from  Oxford,  he  went  down  to  South 
Lancashire,  seeking  to  be  returned  from  there 
to  Parliament,  and  in  the  Free  Trade  Hall,  Man- 
chester, said  :  "  At  last,  my  friends,  I  am  come 
among  you,  and  I  am  come  among  you  unmuz- 
zled." These  words  were  greeted  with  loud  and 
prolonged  applause.  The  advanced  Liberals 
seemed  to  take  the  same  view,  and  regarded 
Mr.  Gladstone's  defeat  at  Oxford  by  the  Con- 
servatives as  his  political  enfranchisement.  His 
defeat  was  not   wholly   unexpected   to   himself. 


386  William  E.  Gladstone 

In  i860  he  said:  "Without  having  to  com- 
plain, I  am  entirely  sick  and  weary  of  the  terms 
upon  which  I  hold  the  seat." 

Mr.  Gladstone  felt  keenly  the  separation, 
for  he  wrote  to  the  Bishop  of  Oxford :  "  There 
have  been  two  great  deaths,  or  transmigrations 
of  spirit,  in  my  political  existence — one,  very 
slow,  the  breaking  of  ties  with  my  original  party, 
the  other,  very  short  and  sharp,  the  breaking  of 
the  tie  with  Oxford.  There  will  probably  be  a 
third,  and  no  more."  And  in  a  speech  at  Liver- 
pool, there  was  something  of  pathos  in  his 
reference  to  Oxford,  when  he  said  that  if  he 
had  clung  to  the  representation  of  the  University 
with  desperate  fondness,  it  was  because  he  would 
not  desert  a  post  to  which  he  seemed  to  have 
been  called.  But  he  had  now  been  dismissed 
from  it,  not  by  academical,  but  by  political 
agencies. 

Mr.  Gladstone  was  elected  to  represent  his 
native  district  in  Parliament,  and  he  was  at  the 
head  of  the  poll  in  Manchester,  Liverpool,  and 
all  the  large  towns.  The  result  of  the  general 
elections  was  a  considerable  gain  to  the  Libera] 
party,  but  that  party  sustained  a  severe  loss  by 
the  death  of  Lord  Palmerston,  October  18,  1865. 

A  new  cabinet  was  constructed,  with  Earl 
Russell  as  Premier,  and  Mr,  Gladstone  as  thQ 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  Mr.  Gladstone 
became  for  the  first  time  the  recognized  leadei 


Liberal  Reformer  and  Prime  Minister      387 

in  the  House  of  Commons,  which  then  meant 
virtually  Prime  Minister,  for  with  the  aged 
Premier  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  the  youthful 
Chancellor  in  the  Commons,  it  meant  nothing 
else.  But  Earl  Russell  and  his  younger  col- 
league were  calculated  to  work  in  harmonious 
action,  for  they  were  both  Reformers.  The 
ardent  temperament  and  the  severe  conscien- 
tiousness of  the  leader  was  the  cause  of  much 
speculation  and  anxiety  as  to  his  management. 
His  first  appearance  as  leader  of  the  House  was 
therefore  waited  for  with  much  curiosity.  The 
new  Parliament  was  opened  February  6,  1866,  by 
the  Queen  in  person,  for  the  first  time  since  the 
death  of  Prince  Albert.  In  the  speech  from  the 
throne  it  was  announced  that  Parliament  would 
be  directed  to  consider  such  improvements  in  the 
laws  which  regulate  the  right  of  voting  in  the 
election  of  the  members  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons as  may  tend  to  strengthen  our  free  insti- 
tutions, and  conduce  to  the  public  welfare. 
Bishop  Wilberforce  wrote  :  '^  Gladstone  has  risen 
entirely  to  his  position,  and  done  all  his  most 
sanguine  friends  hoped  for  as  leader.  *  *  ^'' 
There  is  a  general  feeling  of  insecurity  of  the 
ministry,  and  the  Reform  Bill  to  be  launched 
to-night  is  thought  a  bad  rock." 

May  3,  1866,  Mr.  Gladstone  brought  forward 
what  was  destined  to  be  his  last  budget  for  some 
years.     There  was  a  surplus  of  over  a   million 


3^8  William  E.  OLADstONE 

and  a  quarter  of  pounds,  wliicli  allowed  a  further 
and  considerable  reduction  of  taxation. 

The  condition  of  Ireland  was  very  grave  at 
this  time,  and  as  apprehensions  were  felt  in 
regard  to  the  Fenians,  a  bill  suspending  the 
Habeas  Corpus  Act  in  Ireland  was  passed.  Mr. 
Gladstone,  in  explaining  the  necessity  for  the 
measure,  said  that  the  government  were  ready 
at  any  time  to  consider  any  measure  for  the 
benefit  of  Ireland,  but  it  was  the  single  duty  of 
the  House  at  the  moment  to  strengthen  the 
hands  of  the  Executive  in  the  preservation  of 
law  and  order.  The  bill  was  renewed  by  the 
Derby  government,  und  passed  as  before,  as  the 
result  of  an  anticipated  great  Fenian  uprising 
under  "  Head-Centre  ''  Stephens. 

During  a  debate  on  the  bill  for  the  abolition 
of  Church  rates,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  the  law 
requiring  Church  rates  was  prima  facie  open  to 
great  objection,  but  he  could  not  vote  for  total 
abolition.  He  offered  a  compromise  and  proposed 
that  Dissenters  be  exempted  from  paying  Church 
rates,  and  at  the  same  time  be  disqualified  from 
interfering  with  funds  to  which  they  had  not 
contributed.  The  compromise  was  accepted,  but 
failed  to  become  a  law. 

On  the  subject  of  reform,  mentioned  in  the 
address,  there  were  great  debates,  during  the 
session  of  1866.  The  new  Cabinet,  known  as 
the   Russell-Gladstoue  Ministry,  set  themselves 


Liberal  Reformer  and  Prime  Minister      3^9 

to  work  in  earnest  upon  a  question  that  Had 
baffled  all  the  skill  of  various  administrations. 
As  a  part  of  the  reform  scheme,  Mr.  Gladstone 
brought  forward  a  Franchise  Bill  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  March  12th. 

The  bill  satisfied  most  of  the  Liberal  party, 
Mr.  Robert  Lowe,  a  Liberal,  became  one  of  its 
most  powerful  assailants.  His  enmity  to  the 
working  classes  made  him  extremely  unpopular. 
Mr.  Horseman  also  joined  the  Conservatives  in 
opposing  the  bill.  Mr.  Bright,  in  a  crushing 
retort,  fastened  upon  the  small  party  of  Liberals, 
led  by  these  two  members  in  opposition  to  the  bill, 
the  epithet  of  "  Adullamites."  Mr.  Horseman, 
Mr.  Bright  said,  had  "  retired  into  what  may  be 
called  his  political  Cave  of  Adullam,  to  which  he 
invited  every  one  who  was  in  distress,  and  every 
one  who  was  discontented.  He  had  long  been 
anxious  to  found  a  party  in  this  house,  and 
there  is  scarcely  a  member  at  this  end  of  the 
House  who  is  able  to  address  us  with  effect  or  to 
take  much  part,  whom  he  has  not  tried  to  bring 
over  to  his  party  and  his  cabal.  At  last  he  has 
succeeded  in  hooking  *  *  *  Mr.  Lowe.  I 
know  it  was  the  opinion  many  years  ago  of  a 
member  of  the  Cabinet  that  two  men  could  make 
a  party.  When  a  party  is  formed  of  two  men  so 
amiable  and  so  disinterested  as  the  two  gentle- 
men, we  may  hope  to  see  for  the  first  time  in 
Parliament   a   party   perfectly   harmonious    and 


390  William  E.  Gladstone 

distinguished  by  mutual  and  unbroken  trust. 
But  tbere  is  one  difficulty  whicb  it  is  impossible 
to  remove.  This  party  of  two  is  like  the  Scotch 
terrier  that  is  so  covered  with  hair  that  you 
could  not  tell  which  was  the  head  and  which  was 
the  tail."  This  sally,  which  excited  immoderate 
laughter,  remains  one  of  the  happiest  examples 
of  Parliamentary  retort  and  badinage. 

During  this  session  the  Conservative  party 
met  at  the  residence  of  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury, 
and  decided  upon  strongly  opposing  the  measure 
proposed  by  the  Liberal  government.  Mr.  Bright 
characterized  it  as  ''  a  dirty  conspiracy."  On  the 
other  hand,  the  country  supported  the  bill,  and 
great  meetings  were  held  in  its  interest.  Mr. 
Gladstone  spoke  at  a  great  meeting  at  Liverpool. 
He  said :  ''  Having  produced  this  measure,  found- 
ed in  a  spirit  of  moderation,  we  hope  to  support 
it  with  decision.  *  *  *  We  have  passed  the 
Rubicon,  we  have  broken  the  bridge  and  burned 
the  boats  behind  us.  We  have  advisedly  cut  off 
the  means  of  retreat,  and  having  done  this,  we 
hope  that,  as  far  as  time  is  yet  permitted,  we 
have  done  our  duty  to  the  Crown  and  to  the 
nation."  This  was  regarded  as  the  bugle-call  to 
the  Liberal  party  for  the  coming  battle. 

The  debate  began  April  12th,  and  continued 
for  eight  nights.  "  On  no  occasion  since,  and 
seldom  before,  has  such  a  flow  of  eloquence  been 
heard  within  the  walls  of  the  House  of  Commons." 


LIBERAL  REFORMER  AND  PRIME  MINISTER        39l 

Mr.  Disraeli  spoke  for  three  hours  against  the 
bill,  and  in  his  speech  accused  Mr.  Gladstone  of 
introducing  American  ideas  of  Government,  and 
of  having  once  assailed  the  very  principles  he 
now  advocated,  when  in  the  Oxford  Union  he 
spoke  against  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832.  Mr. 
Gladstone's  reply  was  one  of  the  most  note- 
worthy parts  of  this  famous  debate.  He  rose  at 
one  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  conclude  a  legisla- 
tive battle  which  had  begun  two  weeks  before. 
"  At  last,"  Mr.  Gladstone  said,  "we  have  obtained 
a  declaration  from  an  authoritative  source  that  a 
bill  which,  in  a  country  with  five  millions  of 
adult  males,  proposes  to  add  to  a  limited  con- 
stituency 200,000  of  the  middle  class  and  200,000 
of  the  working  class,  is,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
leader  of  the  Tory  party,  a  bill  to  reconstruct  the 
constitution  upon  American  principles. 

"  The  right  honorable  gentleman,  secure  in 
the  recollection  of  his  own  consistency,  has 
taunted  me  with  the  errors  of  my  boyhood. 
When  he  addressed  the  honorable  member  of 
Westminster,  he  showed  his  magnanimity  by 
declaring  that  he  would  not  take  the  philosopher 
to  task  for  what  he  wrote  twenty-five  years  ago ; 
but  when  he  caught  one  who,  thirty-six  years 
ago,  just  emerged  from  boyhood,  and  still  an 
undergraduate  at  Oxford,  had  expressed  an 
opinion  adverse  to  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832,  of 
which  he  had  so  long  and  bitterly  repented,  then 


^9^  William  E.  Gladstone 

the  right  honorable  gentleman  could  not  resist 
the  temptation." 

The  bill  was  put  upon  its  passage.  The 
greatest  excitement  prevailed.  "  The  house 
seemed  charged  with  electricity,  like  a  vast 
thunder-cloud ;  and  now  a  spark  was  about  to 
be  applied.  Strangers  rose  in  their  seats,  the 
crowd  at  the  bar  pushed  half-way  up  the  House, 
the  Royal  Princes  leaned  forward  in  their  stand- 
ing places,  and  all  was  confusion."  Presently 
order  was  restored,  and  breathless  excitement 
prevailed  while  the  tellers  announced  that  the 
bill  had  been  carried  by  a  majority  of  only  five. 

"  Hardly  had  the  words  left  the  teller's  lips 
than  there  arose  a  wild,  raging,  mad-brained 
shout  from  floor  and  gallery,  such  as  has  never 
been  heard  in  the  present  House  of  Commons. 
Dozens  of  half-frantic  Tories  stood  up  in  their 
seats,  madly  waved  their  hats  and  hurrahed  at 
the  top  of  their  voices.  Strangers  in  both  gal- 
leries clapped  their  hands.  The  Adullamites  on 
the  Ministerial  benches,  carried  away  by  the 
delirium  of  the  moment,  waved  their  hats  in 
sympathy  with  the  Opposition,  and  cheered  as 
loudly  as  any.  Mr.  Lowe,  the  leader,  instigator, 
and  prime  mover  of  the  conspiracy,  stood  up  in 
the  excitement  of  the  moment — flushed,  triumph- 
ant, and  avenged.  *  *  *  jje  took  off  his  hat, 
waved  it  in  wide  and  triumphant  circles  over  the 
heads  of  the  very  men  who  had  just  gone  into  the 


Liberal  Reformer  and  Prime  Minister      393 

lobby  against  bim.  '^  *  *  But  see,  tbe  Cban- 
cellor  of  tbe  Excbequer  lifts  up  bis  band  to  be- 
speak silence,  as  if  be  bad  sometbing  to  say  in 
regard  to  tbe  result  of  tbe  division.  But  tbe 
more  tbe  great  orator  lifts  bis  band  beseecbingly, 
tbe  more  tbe  cbeers  are  renewed  and  tbe  bats 
waved.  At  lengtb  tbe  noise  comes  to  an  end  by 
tbe  process  of  exbaustion,  and  tbe  Cbancellor  of 
tbe  Excbequer  rises.  Tben  tbere  is  a  universal 
busb,  and  you  migbt  bear  a  pin  drop." 

'^  Few,  if  any,  could  anticipate  at  tbis  time, 
tbat  in  tbe  course  of  one  sbort  year  a  Conserva- 
tive Government  would  find  itself  compelled  to 
take  up  tbat  very  question  of  Reform,  wbose 
virtual  defeat  its  opponents  now  bailed  witb 
sucb  intoxicating  expressions  of  deligbt."  How- 
ever, tbe  bill  was  unexpectedly  wrecked  June  i8tb, 
by  an  amendment  substituting  a  ratal  instead  of 
a  rental  basis  for  tbe  borougb  francbise.  Tbe 
ministry  regarding  tbis  as  a  vital  point,  could 
not  agree  to  it,  and  consequently  tbrew  up  tbeir 
measure  and  resigned  office.  Tbe  Queen  was 
unwilling  to  accept  tbeir  resignation.  But  tbe 
ministry  felt  tbat  tbey  bad  lost  tbe  confidence  of 
tbe  House,  so  tbeir  resignation  was  announced 
June  26tb. 

Tbe  apatby  of  tbe  people  about  reform  tbat 
Earl  Russell  tbougbt  be  perceived,  as  far  as 
London  was  concerned,  at  once  disappeared.  A 
great    demonstration    was    made    at    Trafalgar 


394  William  E.  Gladstone 

Square,  where  some  ten  thousand  people  assem* 
bled  and  passed  resolutions  in  favor  of  reform. 
A  serious  riot  occurred  at  Hyde  Park  in  conse- 
quence of  the  prohibition  by  the  Government 
of  the  meeting  of  the  Reform  League.  The 
Reformers  then  marched  to  Carleton  House 
Terrace,  the  residence  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  singing 
songs  in  his  honor.  He  was  away  from  home, 
but  Mrs.  Gladstone  and  her  family  came  out  on 
the  balcony  to  acknowledge  the  tribute  paid  by 
the  people.  It  is  said  that  Mr.  Gladstone,  now 
for  the  first  time,  became  a  popular  hero.  Great 
meetings  were  held  in  the  interest  of  reform  in  the 
large  towns  of  the  North  and  the  Midlands,  where 
his  name  was  received  with  tumultuous  applause. 
Mr.  Gladstone  was  hailed  everywhere  as  the 
leader  of  the  Liberal  party.  Reform  demon- 
strations continued  during  the  whole  of  the 
recess.  A  meeting  was  held  at  Brookfields,  near 
Birmingham,  which  was  attended  by  nearly 
250,000  people.  The  language  of  some  of  the 
ardent  friends  of  reform  was  not  always  discreet, 
but  Mr.  Gladstone  appears  to  have  preserved  a 
calm  and  dignified  attitude. 

In  the  summer  of  1866,  Lord  Derby  had 
announced  his  acceptance  of  office  as  Premier, 
and  the  formation  of  a  Conservative  Cabinet. 
The  demonstrations  of  the  people  compelled  the 
Conservatives  to  introduce  measures  in  Liberal 
Reform,     Accordingly,  in  1867,  Mr,  Disraeli  and 


Liberal  Reformer  and  Prime  Minister      395 

his  colleagues' passed  a  Reform  Bill,  which,  after 
various  modifications,  was  far  more  extreme  than 
that  presented  by  the  Liberals  and  defeated. 

Owing  to  a  division  in  the  ranks  of  the 
Liberal  members  on  the  pending  bill,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone withdrew  from  the  active  leadership  of  the 
House,  but  soon  resumed  it.  Mr.  Bright  said, 
at  Birmingham,  that  since  1832,  there  had  been 
no  man  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  rank  as  a  statesman 
who  had  imported  into  the  Reform  question  so 
much  of  conviction,  of  earnestness,  and  of  zeal. 

Not  long  after  this  deputations  from  various 
parts  of  the  country,  accompanied  by  their  rep- 
resentatives in  Parliament,  called  on  Mr.  Glad- 
stone to  present  addresses  expressive  of  confidence 
in  him  as  Liberal  leader. 

Lord  Cranborne  expressed  his  astonishment 
at  hearing  the  bill  described  as  a  Conservative 
triumph.  It  was  right  that  its  real  parentage 
should  be  established.  The  bill  had  been 
modified  by  Mr.  Gladstone.  All  his  points  were 
conceded.  If  the  adoption  01  ^he  principles  of 
Mr.  Bright  could  be  described  as  a,  triumph,  then 
indeed  the  Conservative  party,  in  the  whole 
history  of  its  previous  annals,  had  won  no 
triumphs  so  simple  as  this.  In  the  House  of 
Lords  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch  declared  that  the 
only  word  in  the  bill  that  remained  unaltereci 
wa3  the  first  word,  ''  whereas," 


396  William  E.  Gladstone 

"  The  work  of  reform  was  completed  in  the 
session  of  1868,  by  the  passing  of  the  Scotch  and 
Irish  Reform  Bills,  a  Boundary  Bill  for  England 
and  Wales,  an  Election  Petitions  and  Corrupt 
Practices  Prevention  Bill,  and  the  Registration 
of  Voters  Bill.  The  object  of  the  last-named 
measure  was  to  accelerate  the  elections,  and  to 
enable  Parliament  to  meet  before  the  end  of  1868." 

In  the  autumn  of  1866,  Mr.  Gladstone  and 
his  family  again  visited  Italy,  and  at  Rome  had 
an  audience  with  Pope  Pio  Nono.  It  became 
necessary  two  years  later,  owing  to  this  inter- 
view, for  Mr.  Gladstone  formally  to  explain  his 
visit. 

In  February,  1868,  Lord  Derby,  owing  to 
failing  health,  resigned.  The  Derby  Ministry 
retired  from  office,  and  Mr.  Disraeli  became 
Prime  Minister.  An  English  author  writes : 
"  There  was,  of  course,  but  one  possible  Con- 
servative Premier — Mr.  Disraeli — he  who  had 
served  the  Conservative  party  for  more  than 
thirty  years,  who  had  led  it  to  victory,  and  who 
had  long  been  the  ruling  spirit  of  the  Cabinet." 

The  elevation  of  Mr.  Disraeli  to  the  Pre- 
miership before  Mr.  Gladstone,  produced,  in  some 
quarters,  profound  regret  and  even  indignation. 
But  Mr.  Disraeli,  though  in  office,  was  not  in 
power.  He  was  nominally  the  leader  of  a  House 
that  contained  a  large  majority  of  his  political 
opponents,  now  united  among  themselves,     The 


Salisbury  Ministry  Defeated,  a  Victory  for  Gladstone. 


Liberal  Reformer  and  Prime  Minister      399 

schism  in  the  Liberal  party  had  been  healed  by 
the  question  of  Reform,  and  they  could  now 
defeat  the  government  whenever  they  chose  to 
do  so ;  consequently  Mr.  Gladstone  took  the 
initiative.  His  compulsory  Church  Rates  Aboli- 
tion Bill  was  introduced  and  accepted.  By  this 
measure  all  legal  proceedings  for  the  recovery 
of  church  rates  were  abolished.  The  question 
that  overshadowed  all  others,  however,  was  that 
of  the  Irish  Church. 

On  the  1 6th  of  March  Mr.  Gladstone  struck 
the  first  blow  in  the  struggle  that  was  to  end  in 
the  disestablishment  of  the  Irish  Church.  Mr. 
Maguire  moved  that  the  House  consider  the  con- 
dition of  Ireland.  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  Ireland 
had  a  controversy  with  England  and  a  long  ac- 
count against  England.  It  was  a  debt  of  justice, 
and  he  enumerated  six  particulars,  one  of  which 
was  the  Established  Episcopal  Church.  Relig 
ions  Equality,  he  contended,  must  be  conceded 
He  said,  in  referring  to  his  speech  made  on  th<i 
motion  of  Mr.  Dillwyn  in  1865  :  "  The  opinioti 
I  held  then  and  hold  now — namely,  that  in  orde: 
to  the  settlement  of  this  question  of  the  Irish 
Church,  that  Church,  as  a  State  Church,  must 
cease  to  exist." 

This  speech  excited  feelings  of  consternatioc 
amongst  the  Ministerialists.  Mr.  Disraeli  be^ 
wailed  his  own  unhappy  fate  at  the  commence 
ment  of  his  career  as  Prime  Minister,  ui^  finding 


400  William  E.  Gladstone 

himself  face  to  face  with  the  necessity  of  settling 
an  account  of  seven  centuries  old.  He  complained 
that  all  the  elements  of  the  Irish  crisis  had  existed 
while  Mr.  Gladstone  was  in  office,  but  no  attempt 
had  been  made  to  deal  with  them. 

March  23d  Mr.  Gladstone  proposed  resolu- 
tions affirming  that  the  Irish  Episcopal  Church 
should  cease  to  exist  as  an  establishment,  and 
asking  the  Queen  to  place  at  the  disposal  of  Par- 
liament her  interest  in  the  temporalities  of  the 
Irish  Church. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  resolution  was  carried  by  a 
majority  of  65,  and  the  Queen  replied  that  she 
would  not  suffer  her  interests  to  stand  in  the  way 
of  any  measures  contemplated  by  Parliament. 
Consequently  Mr.  Gladstone  brought  in  his 
Irish  Church  Suspensory  Bill,  which  was 
adopted  by  the  Commons,  but  rejected  by  the 
Lords.  During  the  discussion,  ministerial  ex- 
planations followed  ;  Mr.  Disraeli  described,  in 
his  most  pompous  vein,  his  audiences  with  the 
Queen.  His  statement  amounted  to  this — that, 
in  spite  of  adverse  votes,  the  Ministers  intended 
to  hold  on  till  the  autumn,  and  then  to  appeal  to 
the  new  electorate  created  by  the  Reform  Act. 

Lord  Houghton  wrote  :  ''  Gladstone  is  the 
great  triumph,  but  as  he  owns  that  he  has  to 
drive  a  four-in-hand,  consisting  of  English 
Liberals,  English  Dissenters,  Scotch  Presb^^- 
terians,  and  Irish  Catholics,  he  requires  all  his 


Liberal  Reformer  and  Prime  Minister     401 

courage  to  look  the  difficulties  in  the  face  and 
trust  to  surmount  them. 

An  appeal  was  now  made  to  the  country. 
The  general  election  that  followed,  in  November, 
was  fought  out  mainly  upon  this  question.  A 
great  Liberal  majority  was  returned  to  Parlia- 
ment, which  was  placed  at  115.  But  there  were 
several  individual  defeats,  among  them  Mr.  Glad- 
stone himself,  who  was  rejected  by  South  Lancas- 
ter. This  was  in  part  owing  to  the  readjustment 
of  seats  according  to  the  Reform  Bill.  But  Mr. 
Gladstone  received  an  invitation  from  Greenwich, 
in  the  southwestern  division,  where  he  was  warmly 
received  by  the  electors.  "  He  spoke  everywhere, 
with  all  his  fiery  eloquence,  on  the  monstrous 
foolishness  of  a  religious  establishment  which 
ministered  only  to  a. handful  of  the  people."  Is 
the  Irish  Church  to  be  or  not  to  be?  was  the 
question.  He  was  returned  for  that  borough  by  a 
large  majority  over  his  Conservative  opponents. 

Archbishop  Wilberforce  wrote  in  November: 
^'  The  returns  to  the  House  of  Commons  leave 
no  doubt  of  the  answer  of  the  country  to  Glad- 
stone's appeal.  In  a  few  weeks  he  will  be  in 
office  at  the  head  of  a  majority  of  something 
like  a  hundred,  elected  on  the  distinct  issue  of 
Gladstone  and  the  Irish  Church." 

The  feeling  was  so  enormously  great  in  its 
preponderance    for    Mr.    Gladstone's    policy   of 


402  William  E.  Gladstone 

Liberal  Reform,  especially  for  tHe  disestablish- 
ment of  the  Irish  Church,  that  Mr.  Disraeli  did 
not  adopt  the  usual  course  of  waiting  for  the 
endorsement  of  the  new  Parliament,  which  he 
felt  sure  would  be  given  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  but 
resigned,  and  the  first  Disraeli  Cabinet  went  out 
of  o£5ce,  December  2d. 

December  4,  1868,  the  Queen  summoned 
Mr.  Gladstone  to  Windsor  to  form  a  Cabinet. 
He  had  now  attained  the  summit  of  political 
ambition.  He  was  the  first  Commoner  in  the 
land — the  uncrowned  king  of  the  British  Empire 
— for  such  is  the  English  Premier.  ^'  All  the 
industry  and  self-denial  of  a  laborious  life,  all 
the  anxieties  and  burdens  and  battles  of  Ryo 
and  thirty  years  of  Parliamentary  struggle  were 
crowned  by  this  supreme  and  adequate  reward. 
He  was  Prime  Minister  of  England — had 
attained  to  that  gaol  of  the  Eton  boy's  am- 
bition ;  and,  what  perhaps  was  to  him  of  greater 
consideration,  he  was  looked  up  to  by  vast  num- 
bers of  the  people  as  their  great  leader." 

December  9th  the  new  government  was 
completed  and  the  ministers  received  their  seals 
from  the  Queen.  Mr.  Bright,  contrary  to  all 
expectation,  became  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trade.  In  offering  themselves  for  re-election, 
the  members  of  the  new  Cabinet  found  no 
trouble — all  were  returned.  Mr.  Gladstone  was 
returned  by  Greenwich. 


Liberal  Reformer  and  prime  Minister    403 

With  the  year  1869  M^-  Gladstone  entered 
Upon  a  great  period  of  Reform.  The  new  Par- 
liament was  opened  December  loth.  On  the 
nth  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gladstone  paid  a  visit  to 
Lord  and  Lady  Salisbury,  at  Hatfield.  Bishop 
Wilberforce  was  there  and  had  opportunity  to 
observe  his  old  and  honored  friend  in  the  first 
flush  of  his  new  dignity.  Here  are  his  com- 
ments :  "  Gladstone,  as  ever,  great,  earnest,  and 
honest ;  as  unlike  the  tricky  Disraeli  as  possible.'' 
To  Dr.  Trench  the  Bishop  wrote  :  "  The  nation 
has  decided  against  our  establishment,  and  we 
bow  to  its  decision,  and  on  what  tenure  and 
conditions  it  is  to  be  held,  remains  confessedly 
open."  "  But  his  sagacious  and  statesmanlike 
counsel  was  disregarded.  The  Irish  Bishops 
ranged  themselves  in  bitter  but  futile  hostility 
to  the  change.  A  frantic  outbreak  of  Protestant 
violence  began  in  Ireland  and  spread  to  Eng- 
land." Bishop  Wilberforce  notes  this  conversa- 
tion at  Windsor  Castle :  "  The  Queen  very 
affable.  ^  So  sorry  Mr.  Gladstone  started  this 
about  the  Irish  Church,  and  he  is  a  great  friend 
of  yours.'  " 

On  the  15th  of  February  Parliament  as- 
sembled. March  ist  Mr.  Gladstone  introduced 
his  momentous  bill  in  a  speech  of  three  hours, 
his  first  speech  as  Prime  Minister,  which  was 
characterized  as  "  calm,  moderate  and  kindly." 
It   was  proposed  that  on  January  i,  187 1,  the 


404  William  E*  Gladstone 

Irish  Cliutcli  should  cease  to  exist  as  an  estab- 
lishment  and   should   become   a   free    Church. 

Mr.  Disraeli,  in  the  Commons,  moved  the 
rejection  of  the  bill.  In  opposing  the  measure 
he  objected  to  disestablishment,  because  he  was 
in  favor  of  the  union  of  Church  and  State. 

Mr.  Gladstone  eloquently  concluded  as 
follows  :  "  As  the  clock  points  rapidly  towards 
the  dawn,  so  as  rapidly  flow  out  the  years, 
the  months,  the-  days,  that  remain  to  the  ex- 
istence of  the  Irish  Established  Church.  *  *  * 
Not  now  are  we  opening  this  great  question. 
Opened,  perhaps,  it  was  when  the  Parliament 
which  expired  last  year  pronounced  upon  it  that 
emphatic  judgment  which  can  never  be  recalled. 
Opened  it  was,  further,  when  in  the  months  of 
autumn  the  discussions  were  held  in  every 
quarter  of  the  Irish  Church.  Prosecuted  an- 
other stage  it  was,  when  the  completed  elections 
discovered  to  us  a  manifestation  of  the  national 
verdict  more  emphatic  than,  with  the  rarest 
exceptions,  has  been  witnessed  during  the  whole 
of  our  Parliamentary  history.  The  good  cause 
was  further  advanced  towards  its  triumphant 
issue  when  the  silent  acknowledgment  of  the 
late  government,  that  they  declined  to  contest 
the  question,  was  given  by  their  retirement  from 
o£B.ce,  and  their  choosing  a  less  responsible 
position  from  which  to  carry  on  a  more  desultory 
warfare  against  the  policy  which  they  had  in  the 


LIBERAL  Reformer  and  Prime  Minister     405 

previous  session  unsuccessfully  attempted  to 
resist.  Anotlier  blow  will  soon  be  struck  in  the 
same  good  cause,  and  I  will  not  intercept  it  one 
single  moment  more." 

The  bill  passed  by  an  overwhelming  vote — 
368  against  250 — and  went  up  to  the  Lords, 
where  stirring  debates  occurred.  But  there,  as 
well  as  in  the  House,  the  Irish  Establishment 
was  doomed.  The  bill,  substantially  unaltered, 
received  the  Royal  assent  July  26,  1869. 

The  Annual  Register  for  1869  declared  that 
the  bill  "  was  carried  through  in  the  face  of  a 
united  and  powerful  opposition,  mainly  by  the 
resolute  will  and  unflinching  energy  of  the 
Prime  Minister.  *  *  *  Upon  the  whole,  what- 
ever may  be  thought  of  its  merits  or  demerits,  it 
can  hardly  be  disputed  that  the  Act  of  the  Dis- 
establishment of  the  Irish  Church,  introduced 
and  carried  into  a  law  within  somewhat  less  than 
five  months,  was  the  most  remarkable  legisla- 
tive achievement  of  modern  times." 

The  parliamentary  session  of  1870  was  ren- 
dered memorable  by  the  passing  of  a  scarcely 
less  popular  and  important  measure — the  Irish 
Land  Bill.  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  speaking  of 
Ireland,  had  referred  to  three  branches  of  an 
Upas  tree,  to  the  growth  of  which  her  present 
sad  condition  was  largely  owing — the  Irish 
Church,  the  Irish  Land  Laws,  and  the  Irish 
Universities.       The    first    branch    had    fallen 


^.o6 


William  E.  Gladstone 


with  tlie  disestablisliment  of  tlie  Irisli  Churcli, 
and  Mr.  Gladstone,  pressing  on  in  his  reform, 
now  proposed  to  lop  off  the  second  branch  by 
his  Irish  Land  Bill,  which  was  in  itself  a 
revolution.  It  was  claimed  for  Mr.  Gladstone's 
new  bill,  or  Land  Scheme,  that  while  it  insured 
for  the  tenant  security  of  holding,  it  did  not 
confiscate  a  single  valuable  right  of  the  Irish 
land-owner.  Mr.  Gladstone  remarked  that  he 
believed  there  was  a  great  fund  of  national 
wealth  in  the  soil  of  Ireland  as  yet  undeveloped, 
and  said  he  trusted. that  both  tenant  and  land- 
lord would  accept  the  bill  because  it  was  just. 
The  bill  passed,  and  received  the  approval  of 
the  Queen,  August  i,  1870. 


The  Old  lhOY> 


#1 

'^^■r-^ 

1^ 

CHAPTER  XV 

THE  GOLDEN  AGE  OF  LIBERALISM 

/IN  wliat  has  been  denominated  the  "Golden 
^^y      Age  of  Liberalism"  the  Liberal  party 
^1^        was  united,  enthusiastic,  victorious,  full 
of  energy,   confidence   and  hope.      "  I 
have  not  any   misgivings  about  Glad- 
stone personally,'^  says  an  English  writer,  "  but 
as  leader  of  the  party  to  which  the  folly  of  the 
Conservatives    and     the     selfish     treachery     of 
Disraeli,  bit  by  bit,   allied  him,   he   cannot  do 
what  he  would,  and,  with  all  his  vast  powers,  there 
is  a  want  of  sharp-sighted  clearness  as  to  others. 
But  God  rules.     I  do  not  see  how  we  are,  after 
Disraeli's  Reform  Bill,  long  to  avoid  fundamental 
changes,  both  in  Church  and  State." 

Justin  Mc  Carthy  has  well  summed  up  the 
aims  of  Mr.  Gladstone  and  his  party  on  their 
accession  to  power  :  "  Nothing  in  modern  Eng- 
lish history  is  like  the  rush  of  the  extraordinary 
years  of  reforming  energ}'-  on  which  the  new 
administration  had  now  entered.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's government  had  to  grapple  witli  five  or 

407 


4o8  William  E.  Gladstone 

six  great  questions,  any  one  of  whicli  might  have 
seemed  enough  to  engage  the  whole  attention  of 
an  ordinary  administration.  The  new  Prime 
Minister  had  pledged  himself  to  abolish  the  State 
Church  in  Ireland,  and  to  reform  the  Irish  Land 
Tenure  system.  He  had  made  up  his  mind  to 
put  an  end  to  the  purchase  of  commissions  in  the 
army.  Recent  events  and  experiences  had  con- 
vinced him  that  it  was  necessary  to  introduce  the 
system  of  voting  by  ballot.  He  accepted  for  his 
government  the  responsibility  of  originating  a 
complete  system  of  national  education." 

The  first  great  measure  of  the  new  adminis- 
tration had  been  successfully  pushed  through, 
and,  flushed  with  triumph,  the  Liberal  leaders 
were  now  ready  to  introduce  other  important 
legislation.  In  1870,  the  Elementary  Education 
Act,  providing  for  the  establishment  of  school 
boards,  and  securing  the  benefits  of  education  for 
the  poor  in  England  and  Wales  was  introduced. 
By  it  a  national  and  compulsory  system  of 
education  was  established  for  the  first  time.  "  It 
is  important  to  note  that  the  concessions  made 
during  its  course  to  the  convictions  of  Tories  and 
Churchmen,  in  the  matter  of  religious  education, 
stirred  the  bitter  and  abiding  wrath  of  the 
political  Dissenters."  The  measure  was  passed, 
while  the  half-penny  postage  for  newspapers,  and 
the  half-penny  post  cards  were  among  the  benefits 
secured. 


The  Golden  age  of  Liberalism  409 

In  April,  1870,  a  party  of  English  travelers 
in  Greece  were  seized  by  brigands.  The  ladies 
were  released  and  also  Lord  Mnncaster,  who 
was  sent  to  Athens  to  arrange  for  ransom 
and  a  free  pardon.  But  the  Greek  Government 
sending  soldiers  to  release  the  captives  and  cap- 
ture the  captors,  the  English  were  murdered. 
The  English  Minister  at  Athens  was  in  treaty- 
for  the  release  of  his  countrymen,  but  the  great 
difficulty  was  to  procure  pardon  from  the  Greek 
government.  This  terrible  affair  created  a  pro- 
found sensation  in  England,  and  it  was  brought 
before  Parliament.  Mr.  Gladstone  pleaded  for 
further  information  before  taking  decided  steps. 
But  for  the  arrest  and  execution  of  most  of  the 
brigands,  and  the  extirpation  of  the  band,  the 
diabolical  deed  went  unavenged. 

In  July,  war  broke  out  suddenly  between 
France  and  Germany,  which  resulted  in  the 
dethronement  of  Napoleon  III.  England  pre- 
served neutrality.  However,  Mr.  Gladstone  had 
'lis  opinion  regarding  the  war  and  thus  repre- 
sented it :  "  It  is  not  for  me  to  distribute  praise 
and  blame  ;  but  I  think  the  war  as  a  whole,  and 
the  state  of  things  out  of  which  it  has  grown, 
deserve  a  severer  condemnation  than  any  which 
the  nineteenth  century  has  exhibited  since  the 
peace  of  18 15."  And  later,  in  an  anonymous 
article,  the  only  one  he  ever  wrote,  and  which 
contained    the    famous   phrase,  "the  streak   of 


410  William  E.  Gladstone 

silver  sea,"  lie  "distributed  blame  witb  great 
impartiality  between  both  belligerent  powers." 
Among  the  business  transacted  in  the 
session  of  1870  was  the  following :  All  appoint- 
ments to  situations  in  all  Civil  Departments  of 
the  State,  except  the  Foreign  Office  and  posts 
requiring  professional  knowledge,  should  be  filled 
by  open  competition  ;  and  the  royal  prerogative 
that  claimed  the  General  Commanding-in-Chief 
as  the  agent  of  the  Crown  be  abolished,  and  that 
distinguished  personage  was  formally  declared  to 
be  subordinate  to  the  Minister  of  War.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone announced  the  intention  of  the  government 
to  release  the  Fenian  prisoners  then  undergoing 
sentences  for  treason  or  treason-felony,  on  con- 
dition of  their  not  remaining  in  or  returning  to 
the  United  Kingdom.  The  Premier,  alluding  to 
the  enormity  of  their  offenses,  said  that  the  same 
principles  of  justice  which  dictated  their  sentences 
would  amply  sanction  the  prolongation  of  their 
imprisonment  if  the  public  security  demanded  it. 
The  press  and  country  generally  approved  this 
decision  of  the  Premier,  but  some  condemned  him 
for  the  condition  he  imposed  in  the  amnesty. 
The  religious  test  imposed  upon  all  students 
entering  at  the  universities  was  abolished,  and 
all  students  of  all  creeds  could  now  enter  the 
universities  on  an  equal  footing.  Heretofore 
special  privileges  were  accorded  to  members  of 
the  Established  Episcopal  Church,  and  all  others 


The  Golden  Age  of  Liberal+sm  411 

were  cut  off  from  the  full  enjoyment  of  tlie  uni- 
versities. 

A  bill  to  establish  secret  voting  was 
rejected  by  the  Lords,  but  was  passed  the  next 
session.  The  House  of  Lords,  emboldened  by 
their  success  in  throwing  out  the  voting  bill, 
defeated  a  bill  to  abolish  the  purchase  of  com- 
missions in  the  army,  but  Mr.  Gladstone  was  not 
to  be  turned  from  his  purpose,  and  startled  the 
peers  by  a  new  departure — he  dispensed  with 
their  consent,  and  accomplished  his  purpose  with- 
out the  decision  of  Parliament.  Finding  that 
purchase  in  the  army  existed  only  by  royal 
sanction,  he,  with  prompt  decision,  advised  the 
Queen  to  issue  a  royal  warrant  declaring  that 
on  and  after  November  i,  187 1,  all  regulations 
attending  the  purchase  of  commissions  should  be 
cancelled.  The  purchase  of  of&cial  positions  in 
the  army  was  thus  abolished.  It  was  regarded 
as  a  high-handed  act  on  the  part  of  the  Prime 
Minister,  and  a  stretch  of  executive  authority, 
and  was  denounced  by  Lords  and  Commons, 
friends  and  foes.  Tories  and  Peers  especially 
were  enraged,  and  regarded  themselves  as  baffled. 

The  condition  of  affairs  in  Ireland  was 
alarming.  The  spread  of  an  agrarian  conspiracy 
at  Westmeath  compelled  the  government  to 
move  for  a  committee  to  inquire  into  the  unlaw- 
ful combination  and  confederacy  existing.     "  Mr. 


412  William  E.  Gladstone 

Disraeli  was  severely  sarcastic  at  the  expense  of 
the   government." 

The  grant  proposed  by  the  government  to 
the  Princess  Louise  on  her  marriage  aroused  the 
opposition  of  some  members  of  the  House,  who 
claimed  to  represent  the  sentiments  of  a  consider- 
able number  of  people.  It  was  proposed  to 
grant  ^30,000  and  an  annuity  of  ^6,000.  The 
Premier  stated  that  the  Queen  in  marrying  her 
daughter  to  one  of  her  own  subjects,  had  followed 
her  womanly  and  motherly  instincts.  He  dwelt 
upon  the  political  importance  of  supporting  the 
dignity  of  the  crown  in  a  suitable  manner  ;  upon 
the  value  of  a  stable  dynasty  ;  and  the  unwisdom 
of  making  minute  pecuniary  calculations  upon 
such  occasions.  It  was  carried  by  a  remarkable 
majority  of  350  votes  against  i. 

In  187 1  the  treaty  of  Washington  was 
concluded.  But  the  Geneva  awards  for  the 
damage  done  to  American  shipping  by  the 
"Alabama,"  did  much  to  undermine  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's popularity  with  the  warlike  portion  of 
the  British  public  and  there  were  various  in- 
dications that  the  Ministry  were  becoming  un- 
popular. There  were  other  causes  tributary  to 
this  effect.  His  plans  of  retrenchment  had  de- 
prived Greenwich  of  much  of  its  trade,  hence  his 
seat  was  threatened.  Mr.  Gladstone  resolved  to 
face  the  difficulty  boldly,  and  to  meet  the 
murmurers  on  their  own  ground!     October  28, 


The  Golden  age  of  liberalism  413 

187 1,  he  addressed  his  Greenwich  constituents. 
The  air  was  heavy  with  murmurs  and  threats. 
Twenty  thousand  people  were  gathered  at  Black- 
heath.  It  was  a  cold  afternoon  when  he 
appeared  bare-headed,  and  defended  the  whole 
policy  of  the  administration.  "  His  speech  was 
as  long,  as  methodical,  as  argumentative, 
and  in  parts  as  eloquent,  as  if  he  had  been 
speaking  at  his  ease  under  the  friendly  and 
commodious  shelter  of  the  House  of  Commons." 
The  growing  unpopularity  of  the  Government 
was  evidenced  in  the  first  reception  given  to  the 
Premier  by  his  constituents.  Groans  and  cheers 
were  mingled,  and  his  voice  at  first  was  drowned 
by  the  din.  Finally  he  was  heard,  and  won  the 
day,  the  people  enthusiastically  applauding  and 
waving  a  forest  of  hats.  One  cause  of  unpopu- 
larity was  what  is  called  ^'  the  Ewelme  Scandal," 
and  another  the  elevation  of  Sir  Robert  Collin  to 
the  Judicial  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council. 

Mr.  Gladstone  said :  "I  have  a  shrewd 
suspicion  in  my  mind  that  a  very  large  proportion 
of  the  people  of  England  have  a  sneaking  kindness 
for  the  hereditary  principle.  My  observation  has 
not  been  of  a  very  brief  period,  and  what  I  have 
observed  is  this,  that  wherever  there  is  anything 
to  be  done,  or  to  be  given,  and  there  are  two 
candidates  for  it  who  are  exactly  alike — alike  in 
opinions,  alike  in  character,  alike  in  possessions, 
the  one  being  a  commoner  and  the  other  a  lord — 


414  William  E.  Gladstone 

tlie  Englishman  is  very  apt  indeed  to  prefer  tHe 
lord."  He  detailed  the  great  advantage  which 
had  accrned  from  the  legislation  of  the  past 
generation,  including  free-trade,  the  removal  of 
twenty  millions  of  taxation,  a  cheap  press,  and 
an  education  bill.  Mr.  Gladstone  thus  restored 
himself  to  the  confidence  of  his  constituents, 
but  the  ministry  did  not  wholly  regain  the  popu- 
larity they  once  enjoyed.  The  Gladstone  period 
had  passed  its  zenith  and  its  decadence  had 
already  begun. 

During  the  autumn  Mr.  Gladstone  received 
the  freedom  of  the  city  of  Aberdeen,  and  made  a 
speech,  in  which  occurred  a  remarkable  reference 
to  "the  newly-invented  cry  of  Home  Rule." 
He  spoke  of  the  political  illusions  to  which 
Ireland  was  periodically  subject,  the  extremes  to 
which  England  had  gone  in  satisfying  her 
demands,  and  the  removal  of  all  her  grievances, 
except  that  which  related  to  higher  education. 
He  said  that  any  inequalities  resting  between 
England  and  Ireland  were  in  favor  of  Ireland, 
and  as  to  Home  Rule,  if  Ireland  was  entitled  to  it, 
Scotland  was  better  entitled,  and  even  more  so 
Wales. 

Ireland  had  proved  the  glory  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's administration.  Its  name  had  been  asso- 
ciated with  the  most  brilliant  legislative  triumphs 
of  government.     But  Ireland  was  also  destined 


Gladstone's  Reception  after  the  Defeat  of  the 
Salisbury  Ministry. 


The  Golden  Age  of  Liberalism  417 

to  be  tlie  government's  most  serious  stumbling- 
block,  and  fated  to  be  tbe  immediate  measure  of 
its  overtbrow.  In  tbe  session  of  1873  Mr. 
Gladstone  endeavored  to  further  bis  plans  for 
Reform,  and  consequently  vigorously  attacked 
tbe  tbird  brancb  of  tbe  "  upas  tree,"  to  wbicb  be 
bad  referred.  He  labored  to  put  tbe  universities 
on  a  proper  basis,  tbat  tbey  migbt  be  truly 
educational  centres  for  tbe  wbole  of  Ireland,  and 
not  for  a  small  section  of  its  inhabitants  alone. 
Tbis  step  followed  legitimately  after  tbe  dis- 
establisbment  of  tbe  Irisb  Cburcb.  He  intro- 
duced to  tbis  end  a  large  and  comprebensive 
measure,  but  altbougb  it  was  favorably  received 
at  the  outset,  a  hostile  feeling  soon  began  and 
manifested  itself.  Mr.  Gladstone  pleaded  power- 
fully for  the  measure,  and  said:  "To  mete  out 
justice  to  Ireland,  according  to  the  best  view 
that  with  human  infirmity  we  could  form,  has 
been  the  work — I  will  almost  say  tbe  sacred 
work — of  this  Parliament.  Having  put  our 
hands  to  tbe  plough,  let  us  not  turn  back.  Let 
not  what  we  think  the  fault  or  perverseness  of 
those  whom  we  are  attempting  to  assist  have 
the  slightest  effect  in  turning  us,  even  by  a 
hair's-breadth,  from  the  path  on  which  we  have 
entered.  As  we  begun  so  let  us  persevere,  even 
to  the  end,  and  with  firm  and  resolute  hand  let 
us  efface  from  the  law  and  practice  of  the  country 


4i8  William  E.  Gladstone 

tHe  last — for  I  believe  it  is  the  last — of  the 
religious    and    social    grievances   of    Ireland." 

Mr.  Disraeli  made  fun  of  the  bill,  stalwart 
Liberals  condemned  it,  and  the  Irish  members 
voted  against  it,  hence  the  bill  was  defeated  by  a 
small  majority  of  three  votes.  Mr.  Gladstone 
consequently  resigned,  but  Mr.  Disraeli  positively 
declined  to  take  ofEce  with  a  majority  of  the 
House  of  Commons  against  him,  and  refused  to 
appeal  to  the  country.  Mr.  Gladstone  read  an 
extract  from  a  letter  he  had  addressed  to  the 
Queen,  in  which  he  contended  that  Mr.  Disraeli's 
refusal  to  accept  office  was  contrary  to  all  prece- 
dent. But  under  the  extraordinary  circumstances 
he  and  his  colleagues  consented  to  resume  office, 
and  they  would  endeavor  to  proceed,  both  with 
regard  to  legislation  and  administration  upon  the 
same  principle  as  those  which  had  heretofore 
regulated  their  conduct.  Mr.  Lowe,  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer,  having  resigned,  Mr. 
Gladstone  assumed  the  duties  of  the  office  himself, 
thus  serving  in  the  double  offices  of  Premier  and 
Chancellor.  During  the  recess  various  speeches 
were  made  in  defence  of  the  Ministerial  policy, 
but  the  government  failed  to  recover  its  once 
overwhelming  popularity. 

On  the  19th  of  July,  1873,  Mr.  Gladstone  lost 
by  sudden  death  one  of  his  oldest  and  most  highly 
esteemed  friends — Samuel  Wilberforce,  Bishop 
of   Winchester.     He   was  riding  to    Holmbury 


The  Golden  Age  of  Liberalism  419 

with  Earl  Granville,  when  he  was  thrown  from 
his  horse  and  killed  instantly. 

The  end  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  first  ministry 
was  now  drawing  near.  The  people  no  longer 
desired  to  keep  np  with  the  reforming  zeal  of  the 
administration.  Mr.  Disraeli's  strongly  exagge- 
rated description  of  the  Premier's  policy  had  the 
effect  of  forming  the  popular  discontent ;  Liberal 
members  were  deserting  him.  The  Bible  was  in 
danger  of  being  left  out  of  the  schools,  and  beer 
was  threatened  with  taxation.  The  flag  of  "  Beer 
and  the  Bible" — strange  combination — having 
been  hoisted  by  clergy  and  publicans,  the  cry 
against  the  ministry  became  irresistible.  Deserted 
by  the  people  and  by  many  of  his  own  party, 
what  was  to  be  done  unless  to  appeal  to  the  coun- 
try and  decide  by  a  general  election  what  was 
wanted  and  who  would  be  sustained. 

January,  1874,  Mr.  Gladstone  issued  a  mani- 
festo dissolving  Parliament.  In  this  document, 
entitled  to  be  called  a  State  paper  for  its  political 
and  historical  importance,  Mr.  Gladstone  stated 
his  reasons  for  what  was  regarded  by  many  as  a 
coup  d^  ^tat.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  the 
public  excitement  and  confusion  which  attended 
the  general  election  thus  unexpectedly  decreed. 
Mr.  Gladstone,  recovering  from  a  cold,  appealed 
with  great  energy  to  Greenwich  for  re-election. 
The  general  election  resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the 
Liberals,  and  gave  to  the  Conservatives  a  majority 


420  William  E.  Gladstone 

of  forty-six  in  the  House.  Mr.  Gladstone  was 
elected,  but  Greenwich,  which  returned  two  mem- 
bers, placed  the  Premier  second  on  the  poll — 
below  a  local  distiller.  Following  the  example 
of  his  predecessor,  in  1868,  Mr.  Gladstone  resigned. 
"  Thus  was  overthrown  one  of  the  greatest  admin- 
istrations of  the  century ;  indeed,  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  any  other  English  Ministry  was 
ever  able  to  show  such  a  splendid  record  of  great 
legislative  acts  within  so  short  a  period.  There 
was  not  one  measure,  but  a  dozen,  which  would 
have  shed  lustre  upon  any  government ;  and  the 
six  years  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  first  Premiership 
are  well  entitled  to  the  epithet  which  has  been 
accorded  to  them  of  '  the  Golden  Age  of  Liberal- 
ism.' " 

Before  the  next  Parliament  met  Mr.  Glad- 
stone was  to  give  the  country  another  surprise. 
He  was  now  sixty-four  years  old,  had  been  forty 
years  in  active  parliamentary  labors,  and  thought 
himself  justified  in  seeking  rest  from  the  arduous 
duties  of  public  life,  at  least  the  pressing  cares  as 
leader  of  one  of  the  great  political  parties. 
When  his  contemplated  retirement  had  before 
become  known  to  his  friends,  they  induced  him 
for  a  while  longer  to  act  as  leader,  but  in  Febru- 
ary, 1875,  he  finally  retired  from  the  leadership 
and  indeed  appeared  but  rarely  in  the  House  of 
Commons  during  that  session. 


The  Golden  Age  of  Liberalism  421 

"  The  retirement  of  Mr.  Gladstone  from  active 
leadership  naturally  filled  his  party  with  dismay. 
According  to  the  general  law  of  human  life,  they 
only  realized  their  blessings  when  they  had  lost 
them.  They  had  grumbled  at  their  chief  and 
mutinied  against  him  and  helped  to  depose  him. 
But,  now  that  this  commanding  genius  was  sud- 
denly withdrawn  from  their  councils  they  found 
that  they  had  nothing  to  put  in  its  place.  Their 
indignation  waxed  fast  and  furious,  and  was  not 
the  less  keen  because  they  had  to  some  extent, 
brought  their  trouble  on  themselves.  They  com- 
plained with  almost  a  ludicrous  pathos  that 
Mr.  Gladstone  had  led  them  into  a  wilderness  of 
opposition  and  left  them  there  to  perish.  They 
were  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd  and  the  raven- 
ing wolves  of  Toryism  seemed  to  have  it  all 
their  own  way." 

Between  the  time  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  retire- 
ment from  the  Premiership  and  his  resignation 
of  leadership  in  the  House,  he  had  quickly  re- 
appeared in  the  House  of  Commons  and  vigor- 
ously opposed  the  Public  Worship  Regulation 
Bill.  Mr.  Gladstone  attacked  the  bill  with  a 
power  and  vehemence  which  astonished  the 
House.  The  great  objection  to  it  was  its  inter- 
ference with  liberty,  and  with  the  variety  of 
customs  which  had  grown  up  in  different  parts 
of  the  country.  To  enforce  strict  uniformity 
would  be  oppressive  and  inconvenient.     The  bill 


422 


WILLIAM  E.  GLADSTONE 


became  law,  however,  thougli  it  lias  largely 
proved  inoperative,  Mr.  Gladstone  also  opposed 
tHe  Endowed  Schools  Act  Amendment  Bill,  which 
practically  gave  to  the  Church  of  England  the 
control  of  schools  that  were  thrown  open  to  the 
whole  nation  by  the  policy  of  the  last  Parliament. 
So  great  a  storm  was  raised  over  this  reactionary 
bill  that  Mr.  Disraeli  was  obliged  to  modify  its 
provisions  considerably  before  it  could  become  a 
law.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  also  active  at  this  time 
in  delivering  addresses  at  Liverpool  College,  the 
Buckley  Institute  and  the  well-known  Non- 
conformist College  at  Mill  Hill. 


MR.  GLADSTONE'S  MAIU 


CHAPTER  XVi 
The  Eastern  Question 

^^I^^^JRINGr  his  retirement  from  the  leader- 
^^TLrj  ship  of  the  Liberal  Party,  Mr.  Glad- 
^3I|^^^  stone  employed  his  great  abilities  in 
theological  controversy  and  literary 
productions.  It  was  during  this 
period  that  he  collected  his  miscellaneous  writ- 
ings, entitled  '^  Gleanings  from  Past  Years."  A 
little  more  than  a  year  had  elapsed  when  he  again 
entered  the  political  arena.  "  He  threw  aside 
polemics  and  criticisms,  he  forgot  for  awhile 
Homer  and  the  Pope,"  and  "rushed  from  his 
library  at  Hawarden,  forgetting  alike  ancient 
Greece  and  modern  Rome,"  as  he  flung  himself 
with  impassioned  energy  and  youthful  vigor  into 
a  new  crusade  against  Turkey.  A  quarter  of  a 
century  before  he  had  aroused  all  Europe  with 
the  story  of  the  Neapolitan  barbarities,  and  now 
again  his  keen  sense  of  justice  and  strong, 
humanitarian  sympathies  impel  him  with  right- 
eous indignation  to  the  eloquent  defence  of 
another  oppressed  people,  and  the  denunciation 

425 


424  William  e.  Gladstone 

of  their  wrongs.  It  was  the  Eastern  Question 
that  at  once  brought  back  the  Liberal  leader 
into  the  domain  of  politics.  "  The  spirit  of  the 
war-horse  could  not  be  quenched,  and  the  country 
thrilled  with  his  fiery  condemnation  of  the  Bul- 
garian massacres,"  His  activity  was  phenom- 
enal. "  He  made  the  most  impassioned  speeches, 
often  in  the  open  air;  he  published  pamphlets 
which  rushed  into  incredible  circulations ;  he 
poured  letter  after  letter  into  the  newspapers  ; 
he  darkened  the  sky  with  controversial  post- 
cards, and,  as  soon  as  Parliament  met  in 
February,  1877,  he  was  ready  with  all  his  un- 
equalled resources  of  eloquence,  argumentation 
and  inconvenient  enquiry,  to  drive  home  his 
great  indictment  against  the  Turkish  govern- 
ment and  its  champion,  Mr.  Disraeli,  who  had 
now  become  Lord  Beaconsfield." 

"  The  reason  of  all  this  passion  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  discover.  Mr.  Gladstone  is  a  Christian  ; 
and  in  the  Turk  he  saw  the  great  anti-Christian 
power  where  it  ought  not,  in  the  fairest  provinces 
of  Christendom,  and  stained  with  the  record  of 
odious  cruelty  practised  through  long  centuries 
on  its  defenceless  subjects  who  were  worshippers 
of  Jesus  Christ." 

Turkish  oppression,  which  had  for  a  long 
time  existed  in  its  worst  forms,  resulted  in  an 
insurrection  against  Turkey  and  Herzegovina, 
July   I5   1875.      This,   however,   was    only  this 


The  Eastern  Question  425 

beginning,  for  others  suffering  under  Ottoman 
oppression  rebelled,  and  all  Europe  was  involved. 

In  January,  1876,  tbe  Herzegovinians  gained 
a  victory  over  tbe  Turkisb  troops.  The  Euro- 
pean powers  then  suggested  a  settlement  favorable 
to  the  insurgents,  whicli  was  accepted  by  the 
Sultan.  But  early  in  May  another  insurrection 
broke  out  in  several  Bulgarian  villages,  which 
was  quickly  followed  by  the  most  horrible 
atrocities.  A  conference  on  the  Eastern  question 
was  held  at  Berlin  in  May,  and  soon  afterward 
the  English  ministers  announced  in  Parliament 
that  they  were  unable  to  assent  to  the  terms 
agreed  upon  at  the  Berlin  Conference.  This 
announcement  caused  much  surprise  and  com- 
ment in  England.  Public  feeling  already  aroused, 
was  not  allayed  when  it  became  known  that  the 
British  fleet  in  the  Mediterranean  had  been 
ordered  to  Besiki  Bay,  seemingly  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Turkish  Empire. 

June  28th  the  Bulgarian  insurrection  was 
suppressed.  On  the  loth  of  July  the  Sultan, 
Abdul  Aziz,  was  deposed  and  was  succeeded  by 
Murad  V,  who  declared  that  he  desired  to 
guarantee  liberty  to  all.  Mr.  Disraeli  stated,  in 
the  House  of  Commons,  that  the  steps  taken 
by  the  Ministry  would  lead  to  permanent  peace. 
But  within  two  weeks  the  Daily  News  published  a 
letter  from  Constantinople  detailing  the  massacre 
in   Bulgaria  by   the   Turks,   which    moved   all 


426  William  E.  Gladstone 

England  witli  indignation.  Innocent  men, 
women  and  children  had  been  slaughtered  by 
the  thousands ;  at  least  sixty  villages  had  been 
utterly  destroyed ;  the  most  revolting  scenes  of 
violence  had  been  enacted ;  and  a  district  once  the 
most  fertile  in  the  Empire  had  been  laid  waste 
and  completely  ruined.  Forty  girls  were  shut 
up  in  a  straw  loft  and  burnt,  and  outrages  of  the 
most  fearful  description  were  committed  upon 
hundreds  of  defenceless  captives. 

Mr.  Disraeli,  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
grew  "jocular  upon  the  cruelties  and  sufferings 
almost  unparalleled  in  the  world's  history,"  and 
expressed  his  belief  that  the  outrages  committed 
by  the  Turkish  troops  had  been  exaggerated, 
and  sneered  at  the  rumor  as  "  coffee-house 
babble  ; "  while  as  to  the  torture  of  the  impale- 
ment, which  had  caused  universal  anger  and 
disgust,  that  an  Oriental  people  have  their  way 
of  executing  malefactors,  and  generally  termi- 
nated their  connection  with  culprits  in  an  expedi- 
tious manner. 

In  the  official  report  presented  to  Parliament 
by  Mr.  W.  Baring,  the  reported  outrages  in 
Bulgaria  were  corroborated.  No  fewer  than 
12,000  persons  had  perished  in  the  sandjak  of 
Philippopolis  1  The  most  fearful  tragedy,  how- 
ever, was  at  Batak,  where  over  1000  people  took 
refuge  in  the  church  and  churchyard.  The 
Bashi-Bazouks  fired  through  the  window^,  and, 


The  Eastern  Question  427 

getting  upon  the  roof,  tore  off  tlie  tiles  and  threw 
burning  pieces  of  wood  and  rags  dipped  in 
petroleum  among  the  mass  of  unhappy  human 
beings  inside.  At  last  the  door  was  forced  in 
and  the  massacre  was  completed.  The  inside  of 
the  church  was  then  burnt,  and  hardly  one 
escaped.  "  The  massacre  at  Batak  was  the  most 
heinous  crime  which  stained  the  history  of  the 
present  century ;  *^  and  for  this  exploit  the 
Turkish  Commander,  Achmet  Agha,  had 
bestowed  on  him  the  order  of  the  Medjidie.  Sir 
Henry  Elliot,  the  English  Ambassador  at  Con- 
stantinople, was  directed  to  lay  these  facts  before 
the  Sultan  and  to  demand  the  punishment  of  the 
offenders.  The  demand,  however,  was  never 
enforced. 

Prince  Milan  issued  a  proclamation  to  his 
people,  declaring  that,  while  professing  neutrality , 
the  Sultan  had  continued  to  send  military  forces 
of  savage  hordes  to  the  Servian  frontier.  In 
June,  Prince  Milan  left  Belgrade  and  joined 
his  army  on  the  frontier.  The  Montenegrins 
declared  war  on  Turkey  and  joined  forces  with 
Servia.  July  6th  the  Servians  were  defeated. 
Thus  was  Turkey  plunged  into  war  with  her 
Christian  provinces,  and  all  through  her  own 
misrule  in  peace  and  her  barbarities  in  war. 

Mr.  Disraeli  in  a  speech  made  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  August  nth,  explained  that  he 
had  not  denied  the  existence  of  the  "  Bulgariai?. 


428  William  E.  Gladstone 

Atrocities,"  but  he  had  no  official  knowledge  of 
them.  He  affirmed  that  Great  Britain  was  not 
responsible  for  what  occurred  in  Turkey,  nor 
were  the  Turks  the  special  proteges  of  England. 
He  announced  that  the  special  duty  of  the 
Government  at  that  moment  was  to  preserve  the 
British  Empire,  and  that  they  would  never  con- 
sent to  any  step  that  would  hazard  the  existence 
of  that  empire.  This  speech,  which  was  dis- 
tinguished by  much  of  his  old  brilliancy  and 
power,  was  his  last  speech  in  the  House.  On 
the  morning  after  this  speech  it  was  publicly 
announced  that  Mr.  Disraeli  would  immediately 
be  elevated  to  the  peerage  under  the  title  of  the 
Earl  of  Beaconsfield. 

In  September,  1876,  deeming  it  high  time 
that  the  indignant  voice  of  England  should  be 
heard  in  demonstration  of  the  infamous  deeds 
practiced  by  the  Turk,  Mr.  Gladstone  issued  his 
pamphlet,  entitled  "  Bulgarian  Horrors  and  the 
Question  of  the  East."  It  had  an  enormous 
circulation.  He  called  for  a  stop  to  be  put  to 
the  anarchy,  the  misrule  and  the  bloodshed  in 
Bulgaria,  and  demanded  that  the  Ottoman  rule 
should  be  excluded,  not  only  from  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina,  but  also  from  Bulgaria.  The 
Turks  must  clear  out,  ^^  bag  and  baggage,''  from 
the  provinces  they  have  desolated  and  profaned. 
The  pamphlet,  and  the  latter  expression  espec- 
ially, produced  a  great  sensation. 


The  Eastern  Question  429 

The  pamphlet  "  brought  home  to  the  Eng- 
lish people  the  idea  that  for  these  horrors  which 
were  going  on,  they  too,  as  non-interfering  allies 
of  Turkey,  were  in  part  responsible."  Soon 
after  this  Mr.  Gladstone  addressed  a  large  con- 
course of  his  constituents  at  Blackheath,  in 
which  he  severely  arrainged  the  Government. 
This  address  was  one  of  the  most  impassioned 
and  eloquent  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  political  orations, 
and  at  some  points  the  people  were  literally 
carried  away  with  their  feelings. 

November  ist,  Turkey  was  forced  by  Russia 
to  agree  to  an  armistice  of  eight  weeks.  On 
the  2d  the  Russian  Emperor  pledged  his  word 
to  the  English  Ambassador  that  he  had  no 
intention  of  acquiring  Constantinople;  that  if 
compelled  to  occupy  Bulgaria,  it  would  be  only 
until  the  safety  of  the  Christian  inhabitants  be 
secured;  and  urged  the  Ambassador  to  remove 
the  distrust  of  Russia  prevailing  in  England. 
Yet,  in  the  face  of  all  these  assurances,  Lord 
Beaconsfield  delivered  a  war-like  speech,  at  the 
banquet  at  Guildhall,  November  9th.  Informed 
of  this  speech  the  Czar  declared  that  if  the 
Porte  did  not  accede  to  his  demands,  Russia 
would  then  act  independently. 

On  the  8th  of  December  there  was  a  great 
conference  at  St.  James*  Hall,  London,  to  dis- 
cuss the  Eastern  question.  The  Duke  of 
Westminster  presided  at  the  afternoon  meeting. 


430  William  E.  Gladstone 

At  the  evening  gathering  Lord  Shaftesbury 
occupied  the  chair.  Mr.  E.  Freeman  said: 
''  Perish  the  interests  of  England,  perish  our 
dominion  in  India,  sooner  than  we  should  strike 
one  blow  or  speak  one  word  on  behalf  of  the 
wrong  against  the  right."  The  chief  interest 
of  the  occasion  centered  in  the  speech  of  Mr. 
Gladstone  who  was  received  with  unbounded 
applause.  He  declared  that  there  had  been  no 
change  in  public  sentiment  in  England  on  the 
question ;  that  the  promoters  of  that  meeting  had 
no  desire  to  embarrass  the  Government ;  that  the 
power  and  influence  of  England  had  been  em- 
ployed to  effect  results  at  variance  with  the 
convictions  of  the  country ;  that  Lord  Beacons- 
field  had  only  recently  appeared  anxious ;  and 
that  England  had  duties  towards  the  Christian 
subjects  of  Turkey.  Mr.  Gladstone  continued 
that  he  hoped  that  the  instructions  given  to 
Lord  Salisbury,  who  had  been  sent  for  confer- 
ence to  Constantinople,  were  not  in  accordance 
with  the  speech  at  Guildhall,  but  that  he  would 
be  left  to  his  own  clear  insight  and  generous 
impulses  ;  that  the  conference  would  insist  upon 
the  independence  of  the  provinces,  or  at  least 
would  insure  them  against  arbitrary  injustice 
and  oppression,  and  that  the  work  indicated  was 
not  merely  a  worthy  deed  but  an  absolute  duty. 
Mr.  Gladstone,  during  the  recess  of  Parlia- 
ment, delivered  speeches  upon  the  burning  ques- 


The  Eastern  Question  431 

tion  of  the  day  all  over  England.  At  Hawarden 
lie  pleaded  that  it  was  the  wretched  Turkish 
system  that  was  at  fault,  and  not  the  Turks 
themselves,  and  hoped  for  a  remedy.  To  the 
electors  of  Frome  he  spoke  of  the  tremendous 
responsibility  of  the  Ministers.  In  a  speech  at 
the  Taunton  Railway  Station,  he  said,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  injunction  for  himself  and  friends  to 
mind  their  own  business,  that  the  Eastern  ques- 
tion was  their  own  business.  And  when  the 
Constantinople  Conference  failed  he  spoke  of  this 
"  great  transaction  and  woeful  failure,"  and  laid 
all  the  blame  of  failure  on  the  Ministry.  As 
to  the  treaties  of  1856  being  in  force,  his  opinion 
was,  that  Turkey  had  entirely  broken  those 
treaties  and  trampled  them  under  foot. 

January  20,  1877,  the  conference  closed. 
Parliament  met  February  8, 1877,  and  the  conflict 
was  transferred  from  the  country  to  that  narrower 
arena.  In  the  House  of  Lords  the  Duke  of 
Argyle  delivered  a  powerful  speech,  to  which  the 
Premier,  Disraeli,  replied,  that  he  believed  that 
any  interference  directed  to  the  alleviation  of  the 
sufferings  of  the  Turkish  Christians  would  only 
make  their  sufferings  worse.  He  asked  for  calm, 
sagacious  and  statesmanlike  consideration  of  the 
whole  subject,  never  forgetting  the  great  interests 
of  England,  if  it  was  to  have  any  solution  at  all. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  upon  his  appearance  in  the 
House,  was  greeted  as  a  Daniel  come  to  judg- 


432  William  E.  Gladstone 

ment.  He  was  taken  to  task  by  Mr.  Chaplin, 
wlio  complained  that  Mr.  Gladstone  and  others 
of  the  Liberal  party  "  had  endeavored  to  regnlate 
the  foreign  policy  of  the  country  by  pamphlets, 
by  speeches  at  public  meetings,  and  by  a  so-called 
National  Conference,  instead  of  leaving  it  in  the 
hands  of  the  Executive  Government,"  and  inti- 
mated that  Mr.  Gladstone  was  afraid  to  meet  the 
House  in  debate  upon  the  question.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, rebuking  Mr.  Chaplain,  said  that  it  was  the 
first  time  in  a  public  career  extending  over  nearly 
half  a  century,  he  had  been  accused  of  a  disincli- 
nation to  meet  his  opponents  in  a  fair  fight,  and 
promised  him  that  neither  he  nor  his  friends 
would  have  reason  to  complain  of  his  reticence. 
Tories  and  Liberals  knew  he  had  not  shrunk 
from  meeting  the  public  on  this  question.  He 
was  glad  that  there  was  a  tremendous  feeling 
abroad  upon  this  Eastern  question.  He  had 
been  told  that  by  the  pamphlet  he  wrote  and  the 
speech  he  delivered,  he  had  done  all  this  mischief, 
and  agitated  Europe  and  the  world ;  but  if  that 
were  the  case  why  did  not  the  honorable  gentle- 
man, by  writing  another  pamphlet,  and  delivering 
another  speech,  put  the  whole  thing  right  ?  If 
he  (the  speaker)  had  done  anything,  it  was  only 
in  the  same  way  that  a  man  applies  a  match  to 
an  enormous  mass  of  fuel  already  prepared. 
Mr.  Gladstone  closed  with  the  following  words : 
''We  have,  I  think,  the  most  solemn  and  the 


Or-  THE 

UNiVtRSITY 


■^^iQi:i£ORN^ 


M 


The  Eastern  Question  435 

greatest  question  to  determine  that  has  come 
before  Parliament  in  my  time.  *  *  *  In  the 
original  entrance  of  the  Turks  into  Europe,  it 
may  be  said  to  have  been  a  turning  point  in 
human  history.  To  a  great  extent  it  continues 
to  be  the  cardinal  question,  the  question  which 
casts  into  the  shade  every  other  question." 

April  24,  1877,  war  was  declared  by  Russia 
against  Turkey.  The  Czar  issued  a  manifesto, 
assigning  as  reasons  for  this  war  the  refusal  of 
guarantee  by  the  Porte  for  the  proposed  reforms, 
the  failure  of  the  Conference  and  the  rejection  of 
the  Proteol  signed  on  the  previous  31st  of  March. 
England,  France  and  Italy  proclaimed  their 
neutrality.  Mr.  Gladstone  initiated  a  great 
debate  in  the  House  of  Commons,  May  7th, 
which  lasted  five  days.  He  presented  a  series  of 
resolutions  expressing  grave  dissatisfaction  with 
the  policy  of  Turkey,  and  declared  that  she  had 
forfeited  all  claim  to  support,  moral  and  material. 
Mr.  Gladstone  asked  whether,  with  regard  to  the 
great  battle  of  freedom  against  oppression  then 
going  on,  "we  in  England  could  lay  our  hands 
upon  our  hearts,  and  in  the  face  of  God  and  man, 
say,  ^  We  have  well  and  sufficiently  performed 
our  part  ? ' " 

These  resolutions  were  of  course  hostile  to 
the  Government,  and  many  Liberals  refused  to 
vote  for  them,  because  they  pledged  England  to  a 


436  William  E.  Gladstone 

policy  of  force  in  connection  witH  Russia.  Be- 
sides the  Government  gave  assurances  to  avail 
themselves  of  any  opportunity  of  interposing 
their  good  ofiEces.  The  resolutions  consequently 
were  lost.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  not  quite  the  leader 
of  his  party  again. 

Shortly  after  this  debate,  and  before  the 
close  of  the  session,  Mr.  Gladstone  addressed  a 
large  meeting  at  Birmingham  on  the  Eastern 
question  and  the  present  condition  of  the  Liberal 
party.  Later  on  he  visited  Ireland.  On  his 
return  he  addressed,  by  their  request,  the  people 
gathered  to  receive  him.  He  expressed  his 
belief  that  Turkey  would  have  yielded  to  the 
concerted  action  of  Europe ;  noticed  the  change 
in  the  tone  of  the  ministry  from  the  omission  in 
the  Premier's  speech  of  the  phrase,  "  the  inde- 
pendence of  Turkey;"  protested  strongly  against 
England  being  dragged  into  war,  and  warmly 
eulogized  the  non-conformists  for  the  consistency 
and  unanimity  with  which  they  had  insisted  on 
justice  to  the  Eastern  Christians.  Political  feel- 
ing entered  into  everything  at  this  time,  but 
as  an  evidence  of  the  hold  Mr.  Gladstone  re- 
tained in  the  Scottish  heart,  he  was  in  Novem- 
ber elected  Lord  Rector  of  Glasgow  University 
by  a  large  majority.  Lord  Beaconsfield  was  the 
retiring  Lord  Rector,  and  the  Conservatives 
nominated  Sir  S.  Northcote,  the  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer,  as  Mr.  Gladstone's  opponent. 


The  Eastern  Question  437 

The  war  in  the  East  went  disastrously  for 
the  Ottoman  arms.  January  23,  1878,  the  Porte 
agreed  to  accept  the  terms  of  peace  submitted 
by  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas. 

Mr.  Gladstone  was  invited  January  30,  1878, 
to  attend  a  meeting  of  undergraduates  at 
Oxford,  held  to  celebrate  the  formation  of  a 
Liberal  Palmerston  Club.  He  strongly  con- 
demned the  sending  of  the  British  fleet  into 
the  Dardanelles  as  a  breach  of  European  law ; 
and  confessed  that  he  had  been  an  agitator  for 
the  past  eighteen  months,  day  and  night,  to 
counteract  what  he  believed  to  be  the  evil 
purposes  of  Lord  Beaconsfield. 

In  February  the  House  of  Commons  passed 
a  vote  of  credit,  but  on  the  3d  of  March  a  treaty 
of  peace  was  signed  between  Turkey  and 
Russia,  at  Sanstefano,  the  terms  of  which  in 
part  were:  Turkey  to  pay  a  large  war  indem- 
nity ;  Servia  and  Montenegro  to  be  independent 
and  to  receive  accessions  of  territory;  Bulgaria 
to  be  formed  into  a  principality  with  greatly 
extended  boundaries,  and  to  be  governed  by  a 
prince  elected  by  the  inhabitants  ;  the  navigation 
of  the  Straits  was  declared  free  for  merchant 
vessels,  both  in  times  of  peace  and  war ;  Russian 
troops  to  occupy  Bulgaria  for  two  years ;  Batoum, 
Ardahan,  Kars  and  Bayazid,  with  their  territories, 
to  be  ceded  to  Russia,  and  Turkey  to  pay  an 
indemnity   to    Roumania.      The    terms   of    the 


438  William  E.  Gladstone 

treaty  were  regarded  oppressive  to  Turkey  by 
the  Beaconsfield  Ministry,  wlio  proposed  that 
the  whole  treaty  be  submitted  to  a  congress  at 
Berlin,  to  meet  in  June,  1878.  The  treaty  was 
approved  after  some  modifications.  The  English 
Plenipotentiaries  were  the  Earl  of  Beaconsfield 
and  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  who,  for  their  share 
in  the  treaty,  received  a  popular  ovation  and 
rewards  from  the  Queen.  Thus  was  Turkey 
humiliated  and  Russia  benefited,  having  obtained 
her  demands.  To  the  people  assembled  Lord 
Beaconsfield  said  from  the  window  of  the  Foreign 
Office :  "  Lord  Salisbury  and  myself  have 
brought  you  back  peace,  but  a  peace,  I  hope 
with  honor,  which  may  satisfy  our  Sovereign 
and  tend  to  the  welfare  of  the  country."  But  at 
this  very  time  the  envoy  of  Russia,  whom  the 
ministry  thought  to  be  circumvented,  was  enter- 
ing the  Afghan  capital ;  so  that,  although  there 
was  peace  on  the  Bosphorus,  as  a  direct  result  of 
the  Eastern  policy,  there  was  war  in  Afghan- 
istan. The  Conservatives  were  very  ready  for 
awhile  to  use  as  a  watchword  the  phrase,  "  Peace 
and  Honor,"  but  before  long  it  became  the  occa- 
sion of  ridicule. 

Parliament  was  called  upon  to  appropriate 
;^8,ooo,ooo  to  defray  the  cost  of  the  Afghan 
and  Zulu  wars.  When  Mr.  Gladstone's  goverur 
ment  retired  from  office,  there  was  a  surplus  of 
over  ^3,000,600,  but  the  budgets  of  1878  and 


The  Eastern  Question  439 

1879  both  showed  large  deficits.  The  people 
had  applauded  the  "  imperial  policy,"  "  the 
jingoism  "  of  Lord  Beaconsfield's  administration 
during  the  past  two  or  three  years,  but  they 
were  not  so  appreciative  when  they  found  it  so 
costly  a  policy  to  themselves.  The  depression 
in  business  also  had  its  effect  upon  the  country. 
The  unpopularity  of  the  Liberal  government, 
which  culminated  in  its  defeat  in  1873,  was 
now,  in  1879,  being  shifted  to  their  Conservative 
opponents,  whose  term  of  office  was  fast  drawing 
to  a  close. 

"  Mr.  Gladstone's  resolute  and  splendid  hos- 
tility to  Lord  Beaconsfield's  whole  system  of 
foreign  policy  restored  him  to  his  paramount 
place  among  English  politicians.  For  four 
years — from  1876  to  1880 — he  sustained  the 
high  and  holy  strife  with  an  enthusiasm,  a  versa- 
tility, a  courage  and  a  resourcefulness  which 
raised  the  enthusiasm  of  his  followers  to  the 
highest  pitch,  and  filled  his  guilty  and  baffled 
antagonists  with  a  rage  which  went  near  to 
frenzy.  By  frustrating  Lord  Beaconsfield's  design 
of  going  to  war  on  behalf  of  Turkey,  he  saved 
England  from  the  indelible  disgrace  of  a  second 
and  more  gratuitous  Crimea.  But  it  was  not 
only  in  Eastern  Europe  that  his  saving  influence 
was  felt.  In  Africa  and  India,  and  wherever 
British  honor  was  involved,  he  was  the  resolute 
and  unsparing  enemy  of  that  odious  system  of 


440 


William  l.  Gladstone 


bluster  and  swagger  and  might  against  right, 
on  which  Lord  Beaconsfield  and  his  colleagues 
bestowed  the  tawdry  nickname  of  Imperialism.'' 


Wr.  Gladstone  on  his  way  home 


CHAPTER  XVII 
MIDLOTHIAN  AND  THE  SECOND  PREMIERSHIP 

^"T^HE  leadership  of  the  Liberal  party  had, 
W'  J  upon  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Gladstone, 
^^^  been  turned  over  to  Lord  Hartington. 
His  sympathies  were  upon  the  right 
side  on  the  Eastern  question,  but  he 
was  a  calm,  slow-moving  man.  At  the  proper 
time  he  would  have  taken  the  right  measures  in 
Parliament,  but  the  temper  of  the  Liberal  party 
and  of  the  people  demanded  present  action  and 
emphatic  speech,  then  Mr.  Gladstone  came  to  the 
rescue,  and  Lord  Hartington  found  himself 
pushed  aside.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  again  in  fact 
the  leader  of  the  Liberal  party,  whose  standard 
he  had  carried  aloft  during  those  stirring  times 
when  the  Eastern  question  was  the  all-absorbing 
topic  of  debate  in  Parliament  and  among  the 
people  of  the  land.  The  foreign  policy  of  Lord 
Beaconsfield  in  1878  and  1879  found  a  sleepless 
critic  in  Mr.  Gladstone. 

The  day  after  the  Parliament  of  1878  had 
adjourned  for  the  Easter  recess,  it  was  announced 

441 


442  William  E.  Gladstone 

that  the  Ministry  had  ordered  the  Indian  Govern- 
ment to  dispatch  7000  native  troops  to  the  Island 
of  Malta.  The  order  occasioned  much  discus- 
sion— political,  legal,  and  constitutional.  It  was 
warmly  debated.  It  was  thought  that  Lord 
Beaconsfield  had  transcended  his  powers  and 
done  what  could  be  done  only  by  a  vote  of 
Parliament.  In  the  House  of  Commons  Mr. 
Gladstone  condemned  the  proceedings  as  uncon- 
stitutional, and  pointed  out  the  dangers  of  the 
Ministerial  policy.  Lord  Beaconsfield  received 
what  he  calculated  upon — the  support  of  the 
House.  For  a  member  to  differ  from  his  policy 
was  almost  to  incur  the  imputation  of  disloyalty 
to  Crown  and  country.  Indeed,  Mr.  Gladstone 
was  seriously  accused  of  treason  by  a  member  of 
the  House  for  an  article  in  the  Nineteenth  Century, 
Mr.  Gladstone  undauntedly  continued  the 
contest.  He  addressed  a  meeting  of  Liberals  in 
the  Drill  Hall,  Bermondsey,  July  20th,  in  which 
he  said  that  the  Dissolution  of  Parliament  could 
not  long  be  postponed,  and  urged  the  union  and 
organization  of  all  Liberals,  and  prompt  measures 
to  secure  such  representation  as  the  Liberals 
deserved  in  the  coming  Parliament.  Speaking  of 
the  Anglo-Turkish  treaty,  he  pointed  out  the 
serious  obligations  which  devolved  upon  England 
under  it.  He  added,  regarding  the  Turkish  Con- 
t^ention,  that,  possibly  it  was  necessary  to  sus- 
tain the  credit  of  the  country,  but  whether  that 


Midlothian  and  the  Second  Premiership  443 

credit  should  be  sustained  at  such,  a  price 
remained  for  the  people  to  determine  at  the 
polls.  He  rejoiced  that  these  most  unwise, 
extravagant,  unwarrantable,  unconstitutional  and 
dangerous  proceedings  had  not  been  the  work  of 
the  Liberal  party,  but  he  was  grieved  to  think 
that  any  party  should  be  found  in  England  to 
perform  such  transactions. 

A  great  debate  arose  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, extending  over  the  whole  range  of  the 
Eastern  question:  The  Treaty  of  Berlin,  the 
Anglo-Turkish  Convention,  the  acquisition  of 
Cyprus,  the  claims  of  Greece,  etc.  It  was  begun 
by  the  Marquis  of  Hartington,  who  offered  a 
resolution  regretting  the  grave  responsibilities  the 
Ministry  had  assumed  for  England  with  no 
means  of  securing  their  fulfillment,  and  without 
the  previous  knowledge  of  Parliament.  Mr. 
Gladstone's  speech  during  this  debate  is  described 
as  ''  a  long  and  eloquent  address,  unsurpassable 
for  its  comprehensive  grasp  of  the  subject,  its 
lucidity,  point,  and  the  high  tone  which  animated 
it  throughout.'*  Mr.  Gladstone  denied  that  his 
strictures  upon  the  Government  in  a  speech  made 
out  of  Parliament  could  be  construed  as  Lord 
Beaconsfield  had  taken  them  as  a  personal  attack 
and  provocation.  If  criticism  of  this  kind  is 
prohibited  the  doors  of  the  House  might  as  well 
be  shut.  He  observed  that,  "  Liberty  of  speech 
is  the  liberty  which  secures  all  other  liberties, 


444  William  E.  Gladstone 

and  tHe  abridgment  of  which  would  render  all 
other  liberties  vain  and  useless  possessions."  In 
discussing  the  Congress  at  Berlin,  Mr.  Gladstone 
said,  that  he  could  not  shut  his  eyes  to  the  fact 
that  the  Sclavs,  looking  to  Russia  had  been  freed, 
while  the  Greeks,  looking  to  England,  remained 
with  all  their  aspirations  unsatisfied ;  that  Russia 
had  secured  much  territory  and  large  indemnity, 
with  the  sanction  of  Europe ;  that  the  English 
Plenipotentiaries  at  the  Congress,  Lord  Salisbury 
and  Lord  Beaconsfield,  as  a  general  rule,  took  the 
side  of  servitude,  and  that  opposed  to  freedom. 

With  regard  to  the  English  responsibilities 
in  Asiatic  Turkey  put  upon  England  at  the 
Convention,  he  called  them  an  "  unheard  of," 
and  "  mad-undertaking,"  accomplished  "  in  the 
dark,"  by  the  present  Ministry.  Dealing  with 
the  treaty-making  power  of  the  country,  he 
claimed  that  it  rested  with  Parliament  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  Executive.  The  strength  and  the 
eloquence  were  on  the  side  of  the  opposition,  but 
the  votes  were  for  the  Government.  The  resolu- 
tions of  Lord  Hartington  were  defeated,  and  the 
"  imperial  policy"  of  the  Ministry  was  sustained. 
The  Spectator  said,  that,  "  Reason,  prudence,  and 
patriotism  have  hardly  ever  in  our  times  been 
voted  down  with  so  little  show  of  argument,  and 
even  of  plausible  suggestion." 

The  next  step  taken  by  the  Ministry  was  to 
underta'^e  war   with  Afghanistan,  in   hopes  of 


Midlothian  and  the  Second  Premiership   445 

checking  the  advances  of  Russia  in  that  direc- 
tion and  of  redressing  grievances.  England 
accomplished  her  purpose  in  part,  but  greatly 
suffered  for  her  exploit.  Mr.  Gladstone  could 
not  remain  quiet  under  the  ^'  adventurous  policy  " 
of  the  Premier.  He  condemned  the  ministerial 
policy  which  had  made  the  Queen  an  Empress, 
then  manipulated  the  prerogative  in  a  manner 
wholly  unexampled  in  this  age,  and  employed  it 
in  inaugurating  policies  about  which  neither 
the  nation  nor  the  Parliament  had  ever  been  con- 
sulted. But  arguments  were  of  no  avail.  The 
Conservative  majority  in  Parliament  had  im- 
bibed the  idea  that  the  honor  of  England  had  to 
be  protected.  Some  thought  it  had  never  been 
assailed,  but  Lord  Beaconsfield  declared  it  was 
in  peril,  and  men  and  money  were  voted  to 
defend  it.  "  So  the  order  was  given  for  distant 
peoples  to  be  attacked,  English  blood  to  be 
spilled,  the  burdens  of  the  people,  already  too 
heavy,  to  be  swollen,  and  the  future  liabilities  of 
this  country  to  be  enormously  increased." 

In  November,  at  the  Lord  Mayor^s  banquet. 
Lord  Beaconsfield,  speaking  of  Eastern  affairs, 
said  that  the  Government  was  not  afraid  of  any 
invasion  of  India  by  its  northwestern  frontier ; 
but  the  frontier  was  "  haphazard  and  not  a  scien- 
tific one,"  and  the  Government  wanted  a  satis- 
factory frontier.  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  a  letter  to 
the  Bedford  Liberal  Association,  asked :  "  What 


446  William  E.  Gladstone 

right  have  we  to  annex  by  war,  or  to  menace  the 
territory  of  our  neighbors,  in  order  to  make 
*  scientific  '  a  frontier  which  is  already  safe  ?" 

In  the  autumn  of  1879  ^^-  Gladstone, 
having  resolved  to  retire  from  the  representation 
of  Greenwich  at  the  next  election,  paid  a  fare- 
well visit  to  his  constituents.  At  a  luncheon 
given  by  the  Liberal  Association  he  dwelt  upon 
the  necessity  of  a  Liberal  union.  The  Liberals 
had,  owing  to  their  dissensions,  given  twenty-six 
votes  to  their  opponents  in  1874,  while  the 
Government  had  been  carried  on  for  years  by  a 
Conservative  majority  of  less  than  twenty-six, 
showing  the  importance  of  organization.  At 
night  Mr.  Gladstone  attended  a  great  public 
meeting  in  the  Plumstead .  Skating  Rink.  On 
his  entrance  the  whole  audience  rose  and  cheered 
for  several  minutes.  An  address  was  presented, 
expressing  regret  at  his  retirement,  and  the 
pride  they  would  ever  feel  at  having  been  associ- 
ated with  his  name  and  fame.  Mr.  Gladstone 
alluded  to  Lord  Beaconsfield's  phrase  respecting 
"  harrassed  interests,"  and  said  he  knew  of  only 
one  harrassed  interest,  and  that  was  the  British 
nation.  He  protested  against  the  words  ^'  personal 
government "  being  taken  to  imply  that  the 
Sovereign  desired  to  depart  from  the  traditions 
of  the  constitution,  yet  he  charged  the  advisers 
of  the  Crown  with  having  invidiously  begun  a 
system  intended  to  narrow  the   liberties  of  the 


Midlothian  and  the  Second  Premiership  447 

people  of  England  and  to  reduce  Parliament  to 
the  condition  of  tHe  French  Parliaments  before 
the  great  Revolution. 

Mr.  Gladstone  threw  the  whole  responsibility 
of  the  Afghan  war  on  the  Ministry,  and  main- 
taining that  England  had  departed  from  the 
customs  of  the  forefathers,  concluded  as  follows: 
"It  is  written  in  the  eternal  laws  of  the 
universe  of  God  that  sin  shall  be  followed  by 
suffering.  An  unjust  war  is  a  tremendous  sin. 
The  question  which  you  have  to  consider  is 
whether  this  war  is  just  or  unjust.  So  far  as  I 
am  able  to  collect  the  evidence,  it  is  unjust." 

In  December,  1878,  the  following  resolution 
was  offered  in  the  House  of  Commons :  '^  That 
this  House  disapproves  the  conduct  of  her 
Majesty's  Government,  which  has  resulted  in 
the  war  with  Afghanistan."  Mr.  Gladstone 
strongly  condemned  the  war  with  Afghanistan 
and  the  irritating  policy  towards  the  Ameer, 
and  concluded  his  address  with  the  following 
eloquent  responses  to  the  historical  and  moral 
aspects  of  the  Afghan  difficulty:  "You  have 
made  this  war  in  concealment  from  Parliament, 
in  reversal  of  the  policy  of  every  Indian  and 
Home  Government  that  has  existed  for  the  last 
twenty-five  years,  in  contempt  of  the  suppli- 
cation of  the  Ameer  and  in  defiance  of  the 
advice  of  your  own  agent,  and  all  for  the  sake 
of  obtaining  a  scientific  frontier,"  This  powerful 


448  William  e.  Gladstone 

speech  greatly  impressed,  for  tlie  moment,  both 
parties  in  the  House,  but  the  vote  of  censure 
was  defeated,  and  the  policy  of  the  administra- 
tion was  endorsed.  During  the  debate  Mr.  Lat- 
ham made  a  witty  comparison.  He  said  that  the 
Cabinet  reminded  him  of  the  gentleman,  who 
seeing  his  horses  run  away,  and  being  assured 
by  the  coachman  that  they  must  drive  into 
something,  replied,  "  Then  smash  into  something 
cheap !" 

The  Ministry  presented  a  motion  that  the 
revenues  of  India  should  be  applied  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  war.  Mr.  Gladstone  observed  that 
it  was  the  people  of  England  who  had  had  all  the 
glory  and  all  the  advantage  which  resulted  from 
the  destruction  of  the  late  administration,  and 
the  accession  of  the  present  Cabinet ;  and  hence 
it  was  the  people  who  must  measure  the  pros 
and  the  cons^  and  who  must  be  content,  after  hav- 
ing reaped  such  innumerable  benefits,  to  encounter 
the  disadvantage  of  meeting  charges  which 
undoubtedly  the  existing  government  would  leave 
behind  it  as  a  legacy  to  posterity.  England 
gained  her  end  in  the  humiliation  of  Russia,  but 
there  were  those  who  felt  that  the  result  of  the 
English  policy  would  further  the  advance  of 
Russia  in  Europe,  and  that  force  would  never 
make  friends  of  the  Afghans. 

In  the  sessions  of  1879  the  Greek  question 
came  up  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  a  motion, 


Midlothian  and  the  Second  Premiership   449 

"  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  House,  tranquillity 
in  the  East  demands  that  satisfaction  be  given 
to  the  just  claims  of  Greece,  and  no  satisfaction 
can  be  considered  adequate  that  does  not  ensure 
execution  of  the  recommendations  embodied  in 
Protocol  13  of  the  Berlin  Congress.'^  Mr.  Glad- 
stone hoped  that  even  in  the  present  House  there 
would  be  found  those  who  would  encourage  the 
first  legitimate  aspirations  of  the  Hellenic  races 
after  freedom.  The  government  had  given 
pledges  to  advance  the  claims  of  Greece  that  had 
not  been  redeemed  at  Berlin.  Not  one  of  the 
European  powers  was  now  averse  to  the  claims 
of  the  Greek  kingdom,  whose  successful  plead- 
ings depended  wholly  upon  England  for  favorable 
answer.  But  the  government  objected,  and  the 
motion  was  rejected.  In  July,  Sir  Charles  Dilke 
called  the  attention  of  the  House  to  the  obliga- 
tions of  Turkey  under  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  when 
Mr.  Gladstone  again  earnestly  enforced  the 
claims  of  "  Greece,  weak  as  she  may  be,  is  yet 
strong  in  the  principles  in  which  she  rests." 

December  29,  1879,  ^^-  Gladstone  attained 
the  seventieth  year  of  his  age.  His  friends  in 
Liverpool,  and  the  Greenwich  Liberal  Association 
presented  him  with  congratulatory  addresses. 
The  journals  paid  him  warm  tributes  for  his  long 
and  eminent  public  services.  But  few  thought 
that  the  veteran  that  had  so  successfully  gone 
through  one  electoral  campaign  was  destined  in 


450  William  E.  Gladstone 

a  few  montlis  to  pass  tHrough  anotlier,  still  more 
remarkable,  and  yet  be  fresb  for  new  triumphs. 

In  tbe  autumn  of  1879  ^^-  Gladstone 
resolved  upon  a  very  important,  and  as  bis 
enemies  tbougbt,  a  hopeless  step.  He  had 
retired  from  the  representation  of  Greenwich,  and 
he  now  boldly  decided  to  contest  the  election  for 
Midlothian,  the  county  of  Edinburgh.  He  con- 
sequently proceeded  to  Scotland,  in  November, 
where  such  an  ovation  was  given  him  as  has 
never  been  accorded  to  any  man  in  modern  times. 
During  the  period  of  three  weeks  he  addressed 
meetings  numbering  seventy-five  thousand  peo- 
ple, while  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  people,  with 
every  exhibition  of  good-will  and  admiration, 
took  part  in  some  way  in  the  demonstration  in 
his  honor.  In  this  canvass  of  delivering  political 
speeches  he  performed  an  oratorical  and  in- 
tellectual feat  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  any 
statesman  who  had  attained  his  seventieth  year. 
Mr.  Gladstone  addressed  large  concourses  of 
people.  When  he  reached  Edinburgh,  "  his 
progress  was  as  the  progress  of  a  nation's  guest, 
or  a  king  returning  to  his  own  again." 

Midlothian,  the  scene  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
astonishing  exertions,  was  one  of  the  Conserva- 
tive strongholds,  under  the  dominent  influence 
of  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch,  whose  son.  Lord 
Dalkeith,  Mr.  Gladstone  opposed  in  contesting 


t^TAf^ 


Midlothian  and  the  Second  Premiership  453 

for  the  representation  in  Parliament.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone said:  ''  Being  a  man  of  ScotcH  blood,  I  am 
very- much  attached  to  Scotland,  and  like  even 
the  Scottish  accent,"  and  he  afterwards  said, 
^'  and  Scotland  showed  herself  equally  proud  of 
her  son."  He  spoke  at  Edinburgh,  November 
26th,  and  on  the  following  day  at  Dalkeith,  in 
the  very  heart  of  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch's  own 
property  to  an  audience  of  three  thousand 
people,  mostly  agriculturists.  At  Edinburgh  he 
met  nearly  five  thousand  persons  at  the  Corn 
Exchange,  representing  more  than  one  hundred 
Scottish  Liberal  Associations.  In  the  Waverley 
Market  Mr.  Gladstone  addressed  more  than 
twenty  thousand  people,  one  of  the  largest  con- 
gregations ever  assembled  in-doors  in  Scotland, 
and  met  with  a  reception  which  for  enthusiasm 
was  in  keeping  with  the  vastness  of  the  audience. 
December  5th,  at  Glasgow,  he  delivered  his 
address  as  Lord  Rector  to  the  students  of  the 
University,  and  in  the  evening  addressed  an 
immense  audience  of  nearly  six  thousand  in 
St.  Andrew's  Hall.  He  was  most  enthusiasti- 
cally received,  and  he  dwelt  chiefly  on  Cyprus, 
the  Suez  Canal,  India,  and  Afghanistan.  "  We 
had  Afghanistan  ruined,"  he  urged,  "  India  not 
advanced,  but  thrown  back  in  government,  sub- 
jected to  heavy  and  unjust  charges,  subjected 
to  what  might  well  be  termed,  in  comparison 
with  the  mild  government  of  former  years,  a 


454  William  E.  Gladstone 

system  of  oppression ;  and  with  all  this  we  Had 
at  home  the  law  broken  and  the  rights  of  Parlia- 
ment invaded." 

On  the  8th  of  March,  1880,  the  immediate 
dissolution  of  Parliament  was  announced  in  both 
Houses  of  Parliament,  and  the  news  created 
intense  political  excitement  and  activity  through- 
out the  land.  In  his  manifesto,  in  the  shape  of 
a  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Marlborough,  the  Prime 
Minister  referred  to  the  attempt  made  to  sever 
the  constitutional  tie  between  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  and  said :  "It  is  to  be  hoped  that  all 
men  of  light  and  leading  will  resist  this  destruc- 
tive doctrine.  There  are  some  who  challenge 
the  expediency  of  the  Imperial  character  of  this 
realm.  Having  attempted  and  failed  to  enfeeble 
our  colonies  by  their  policy  of  decomposition, 
they,  may  now  perhaps  recognize  in  the  disinte- 
gration of  the  United  Kingdom  a  mode  which 
will  not  only  accomplish,  but  precipitate,  that 
purpose.  Peace  rests  on  the  presence,  not  to 
say  the  ascendency,  of  England  in  the  councils 
of  Europe." 

Mr.  Gladstone  and  Lord  Hartington  issued 
their  counter-manifestoes.  Mr.  Gladstone  repu- 
diated Lord  Beaconsfield's  dark  allusion  to  the 
repeal  of  the  union  and  the  abandonment  of 
the  colonies,  characterizing  them  as  base  insinu- 
ations, the  real  purpose  of  which  was  to  hide 
from  view  the  policy  pursued  by  the  Ministry, 


Midlothian  and  the  Second  Premiership  45 ^ 

and  its  effect  upon  the  condition  of  the  country ; 
and  saic?  that  public  distress  had  been  aggravated 
by  continual  shocks  from  neglected  legislation 
at  home,  "  while  abroad  they  had  strained  thQ 
prerogative  by  gross  misuse,  had  weakened  the 
Empire  by  needless  wars,  and  dishonored  it  in 
the  eyes  of  Europe  by  their  clandestine  acquisi- 
tion of  the  Island  of  Cyprus." 

Mr.  Gladstone  began  the  electoral  cam- 
paign with  a  speech  at  Marylebone  on  the  loth 
of  March,  in  which  he  announced  Lord  Derby's 
secession  from  the  Conservative  to  the  Liberal 
party ;  and  then  he  left  London  to  enter  upon 
his  second  Midlothian  campaign.  At  various 
points  on  the  journey  Mr.  Gladstone  stopped 
and  addressed  the  people  from  the  cars,  and  it  is 
a  remarkable  fact  that  wherever  he  delivered  an 
address  the  Liberals  gained  a  seat. 

The  first  address  made  by  Mr.  Gladstone 
on  his  own  account,  was  delivered  on  the  1 7th  of 
March,  in  the  Music  Hall,  Edinburgh.  After 
dwelling  at  great  length  upon  various  questions 
of  foreign  policy,  he  concluded  with  the  following 
references  personal  to  his  opponents  and  himself: 
"  I  give  them  credit  for  patriotic  motives ;  I  give 
them  credit  fox  those  patriotic  motives  which  are 
incessantly  and  gratuitously  denied  to  us.  I 
believe  that  we  are  ail  united,  gentlemen — indeed 
it  would  be  most  unnatural  if  we  were  not — in  a 
fond  attachment,   perhaps   in   something  of  a 


456  William  E.  Gladstone 

proud  attacliment,  to  tlie  great  country  to  wliicli 
we  belong." 

In  his  final  speech  at  West  Calder  Mr. 
Gladstone  drew  a  powerful  indictment  against 
the  administration,  and  placed  the  issue  before 
the  country  in  a  strong  light.  Throughout  all 
the  campaign,  as  the  time  for  the  general 
election  was  approaching,  only  one  question  was 
submitted  to  the  electors,  "  Do  you  approve  or 
condemn  Lord  Beaconsfield's  system  of  foreign 
policy  ?"  And  the  answer  was  given  at  Easter, 
1880,  when  the  Prime  Minister  and  his  colleagues 
received  the  most  emphatic  condemnation  which 
had  ever  been  bestowed  upon  an  English  Govern- 
ment, and  the  Liberals  were  returned  in  an  over- 
whelming majority  of  fifty  over  Tories  and 
Home  Rulers  combined.  Mr.  Gladstone  suc- 
ceeded in  ousting  Lord  Dalkeith  from  the  repre- 
sentation of  Midlothian  by  a  respectable 
majority.  He  was  also  elected  at  Leeds,  but 
this  seat  was  afterwards  given  to  his  son, 
Herbert  Gladstone.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
election  all  the  journals  joined  in  admiring  the 
indomitable  energy  and  vigor  of  the  orator, 
who  could  carry  out  this  great  enterprise  when 
he  had  already  passed  the  age  of  three-score 
years  and  ten.  Edinburgh  was  illuminated  in 
the  evening,  and  everywhere  were  to  be 
witnessed  signs  of  rejoicing  at  Mr.  Gladstone's 
victory.     The  result  of  the  elections  throughout 


YlCTOKiA,   C^UEBN  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN   AND  IRELAND   AND  EMPRESS   OF   INDIA. 


Midlothian  and  the  Second  Premiership  459 

the  country  exceeded  the  most  sanguine  expec- 
tations of  the  Liberals.  So  large  a  proportion 
of  Liberal  members  had  not  been  returned  to 
the  House  of  Commons  since  the  days  of  the 
first  Reform  Bill. 

Lord  Beaconsfield,  as  soon  as  the  result  of 
the  election  was  known,  and  without  waiting  for 
the  meeting  of  Parliament,  resigned.  The 
Queen,  in  conformity  with  the  constitutional 
custom,  summoned  Lord  Hartington,  the  titular 
leader  of  the  Liberal  party  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  to  form  a  cabinet.  But  he  could  do 
nothing.  Then  the  Queen  sent  for  Lord  Gran- 
ville, who  with  Lord  Hartington,  went  to  Wind- 
sor April  23d.  They  both  assured  the  Queen 
that  the  victory  was  Mr.  Gladstone's ;  that  the 
people  had  designated  him  for  office,  and  that 
the  Liberal  party  would  be  satisfied  with  no 
other,  and  that  he  was  the  inevitable  Prime 
Minister.  They  returned  to  London  in  the 
afternoon,  sought  Mr.  Gladstone  at  Harley 
Street,  where  he  was  awaiting  the  message  they 
brought  from  the  Queen — to  repair  to  Windsor. 
That  evening,  without  an  hour's  delay,  he  went 
to  Windsor,  kissed  hands,  and  returned  to 
London  Prime  Minister  for  the  second  time. 

Mr.  Gladstone  again  filled  the  double  office  of 
Premier  and  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  in  the 
new  cabinet,  which  for  general  ability  and  debat- 
ing power    was    one  of   the   strongest  of   the 


4.60  William  E.  Gladstone 

century.  While  some  of  tlie  cabinet  officers 
were  like  Mr.  Gladstone  himself,  without  title, 
others  were  representatives  of  the  oldest  nobility 
of  the  land.  At  the  very  beginning  the  new 
administration  were  confronted  by  perplexing 
questions.  The  Eastern  question,  chiefly  by 
Mr.  Gladstone's  influence,  had  been  settled  in 
accordance  with  the  dictates  of  humanity  and 
religion.  But  there  were  other  difficulties  to  be 
overcome.  ^'  At  home,  his  administration  did  good 
and  useful  work,  including  the  extension  of  the 
suffrage  to  the  agricultural  laborers ;  but  it  was 
seriously,  and  at  length  fatally,  embarrassed  by 
two  controversies  which  sprang  up  with  little 
warning,  and  found  the  lyiberal  party  and  its 
leaders  totally  unprepared  to  deal  with  them." 

The  first  embarrassing  question  which  arose 
when  the  new  Parliament  met  was  the  great 
deficit  of  nine  million  pounds  instead  of  an  ex- 
pected surplus  in  the  Indian  Budget,  owing  to 
the  Afghan  war. 

Foremost  among  the  difficulties  encoun- 
tered was  the  case  of  Mr.  Charles  Bradlaugh, 
elected  a  member  of  Parliament  for  Northamp- 
ton. He  demanded  to  be  permitted  to  make  a 
solemn  affirmation  or  declaration  of  allegiance, 
instead  of  taking  the  usual  oath.  The  question 
created  much  discussion  and  great  feeling,  and 
Mr.  Bradlaugh's  persistence  was  met  by  violence. 
Mr*  Bright  contended  for  liberty  of  conscience. 


Midlothian  and  the  Second  Premiership  461 

Mr.  Gladstone  favored  permitting  Mr.  Brad- 
laugH  to  affirm  on  his  own  responsibility  which 
was  finally  done,  but  Mr.  Bradlaugh  was  prose- 
cuted in  the  courts.  The  great  difficulty  arose 
from  Mr.  Bradlaugh's  atheism. 

A  considerable  share  of  the  session  of  1880 
was  occupied  in  the  consideration  of  the  Irish 
Compensation  for  Disturbance  Bill  and  other 
Irish  measures.  In  consequence  of  the  rapid 
increase  of  evictions  by  landlords,  this  protective 
measure  had  become  absolutely  necessary  in 
the  interests  of  the  Irish  tenants.  After  pro- 
longed debate — very  prolonged  for  so  short  a 
bill — thirty-five  lines  only — the  bill  was  passed 
by  the  Commons,  but  defeated  by  the  Lords. 
The  result  was  "seen  in  a  ghastly  record  of 
outrage  and  murder  which  stained  the  following 
winter." 

Home  Rule  for  Ireland,  which  movement 
was  started  in  the  "  seventies,"  was  gaining 
ground,  and  every  election  returned  to  the 
House  more  members  pledged  to  its  support. 
Those  who  were  bent  upon  obtaining  Home  Rule 
at  any  cost  used  obstructive  means  against  other 
legislation  to  gain  their  object,  but  as  yet  the 
movement  was  confined  to  the  members  who  had 
been  elected  by  Irish  constituents. 

About  the  close  of  the  session  of  1880  the 
heavy  burdens  and  responsibilities  of  public  ser- 
vice borne  by  Mr.  Gladstone  began  to  tell  upon 


463  William  E.  Gladstone 

him.  At  tlie  end  of  July,  while  returning  from 
home  for  the  House  of  Commons,  Mr.  Gladstone 
was  taken  ill.  He  was  prostrated  by  fever  and 
great  fears  for  his  recovery  were  entertained  by 
his  family,  his  party  and  a  host  of  admirers 
throughout  the  country.  A  great  outburst  of 
popular  sympathy  was  manifested  and  frequent 
messages  were  received  from  the  Queen  and  many 
foreign  potentates  and  celebrities.  Distinguished 
callers  and  telegrams  continued  to  arrive  at 
Downing  Street  for  ten  days  while  the  patient 
was  confined  to  his  bed  at  home.  The  President 
of  the  United  States  and  the  King  and  Queen 
of  the  Belgians  were  among  those  who  sent 
messages  of  sympathy.  ^'  Rarely  indeed,  if  ever, 
has  there  been  witnessed  such  a  general  and 
spontaneous  expression  of  the  national  sympathy 
towards  a  distinguished  statesman  whose  life  had 
been  imperilled  by  illness.'' 

Mr.  Gladstone's  large  store  of  vital  energy 
brought  him  safely  through  his  dangerous 
illness  and  on  approaching  convalescence  he 
took  a  sea  voyage  round  the  entire  coast  of 
England  in  Sir  Donald  Currie's  steamer, 
^^Grantully  Castle." 

Three  years  after  this  voyage  around  Eng- 
land the  Premier  visited  the  Orkneys  on  a  similar 
trip,  in  the  "  Pembroke  Castle,"  the  poet  laure- 
ate being  of  the  party  on  this  occasion.  From 
the  Orkneys  he  sailed  across  to  Denmark  and 


Midlothian  and  the  Second  Premiership   463 

suddenly  appeared  at  Copenhagen,  wliere  Mr. 
Gladstone  entertained  tlie  Czar  and  Czarina,  the 
King  of  Greece,  and  the  King  and  Queen  of 
Denmark,  and  many  others  of  their  relatives 
who  happened  to  be  visiting  them  at  that  time. 

A  great  meeting  was  held  June  21,  1880,  in 
Her  Majesty's  opera  house,  for  the  purpose  of 
presenting  an  address  from  the  Liberals  of 
Middlesex  to  Mr.  Herbert  Gladstone,  who  had 
made  a  gallant  contest  in  that  country  at  the 
general  election.  The  entrance  of  the  Premier 
some  time  after  the  meeting  began  was  the 
signal  for  an  outburst  of  enthusiasm.  Before 
Mr.  Gladstone  appeared,  the  chairman,  Mr. 
Foster,  had  paid  a  high  tribute  to  the  Premier  for 
his  great  abilities  and  his  self-denial  in  the 
public  service.  After  his  son  had  received  the 
address,  the  Premier  arose  to  speak,  when  the 
whole  audience  arose  to  their  feet  and  welcomed 
him  with  immense  cheering. 

Mr.  Gladstone  referred  at  length  to  the 
Midlothian  campaign,  and  paid  a  tribute  to  the 
spirit  and  energy  of  the  Liberals  of  the  whole 
country.  The  sound  which  went  forth  from 
Midlothian  reverberated  through  the  land  and 
was  felt  to  be  among  the  powerful  operative 
causes  which  led  to  the  great  triumph  of  the 
Liberal  party. 

At  the  Lord  Mayor's  banquet,  November  9, 
1880,  Mr,  Gladstone's  speech  was  looked  forward 


464  William  E.  Gladstone 

to  witli  mucli  anxiety,  owing  to  the  singularly 
disturbed  condition  of  Ireland.  Referring  to  tlie 
^^  party  of  disorder  "in  Ireland,  lie  said  tHat  as 
anxious  as  tHe  government  was  to  pass  laws  for 
tHe  improvement  of  the  land  laws,  their  prior 
duty  was  to  so  enforce  the  laws  as  to  secure 
order.  If  an  increase  of  power  was  needed  to 
secure  this,  they  would  not  fail  to  ask  it. 

In  1 88 1,  at  the  Lord  Mayor's  banquet, 
Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  he  was  glad  to  discern 
signs  of  improvement  in  Ireland  during  the  last 
twelve  months ;  but  the  struggle  between  the 
representatives  of  law  and  the  representatives  of 
lawlessness  had  rendered  necessary  an  augmen- 
tation of  the  executive  power. 

In  August,  i88i,at  Greenwich,  the  Liberals 
of  the  borough  presented  Mr.  Gladstone  with  an 
illustrated  address  and  a  carved  oak  chair  as  a 
token  of  their  esteem  and  a  souvenir  of  his 
former  representation  of  their  borough.  On  the 
cushion  back  of  the  chair  were  embossed  in  gold 
the  arms  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gladstone,  with  a 
motto  "  Fide  et  Virtute,"  and  above,  in  the 
midst  of  some  wood-carving  representing  the 
rose,  the  thistle,  the  shamrock,  and  the  leek,  was 
a  silver  plate,  bearing  a  suitable  inscription. 

The  Parliamentary  session  of  1881  was 
almost  exclusively  devoted  to  Irish  affairs.  In- 
stead of  the  contemplated  Land  Act,  the 
ministry   were    compelled,   on   account   of   the 


Midlothian  and  the  Second  Premiership  465 

disturbed  condition  of  Ireland,  to  bring  in  first 
a  Coercion  Act,  altbougb  tbe  measure  was 
naturally  distasteful  to  sucb  friends  of  Ireland 
in  tbe  Cabinet  as  Mr.  Gladstone  and  Mr.  Brigbt. 
Property  and  life  bad  become  very  insecure,  and 
tbere  was  a  startling  increase  of  agrarian  crime 
tbat  sucb  a  measure  was  deemed  necessary. 
But  wbile  passing  tbe  Coercion  Act,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone accompanied  it  by  a  great  and  beneficial 
measure — a  second  Irisb  Land  Bill,  wbicb  insti- 
tuted a  court  for  tbe  purpose  of  dealing  witb  tbe 
difierences  between  landlord  and  tenant. 

Tbis  bill — one  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  greatest 
measures — became  a  law  August  23,  1881. 
Mr.  Gladstone  in  bis  speecb  remarked  tbat 
tbe  complaint  was  made  tbat  tbe  bill  was 
an  infringement  of  liberty  in  Ireland  and  was 
aimed  at  tbe  Land  League,  but  no  person  or 
body  could  be  toucbed  by  tbe  bill  unless  tbey 
violated  tbe  law,  and  tben  could  only  be  arrested 
upon  reasonable  suspicion  of  crime  committed  or 
of  inciting  to  crime  or  of  interfering  witb  law 
or  order.  Tbere  would  be  tbe  fullest  freedom  of 
discussion  allowed.  Dealing  witb  tbe  Land 
League  be  said  it  bad  been  attempted  to  compare 
it  witb  tbe  Com  Laws,  but  Mr.  Brigbt  bad  com- 
pletely demolisbed  tbat  miserable  argument. 
It  was  compared  also  to  tbe  trade  unions,  but 
tbey  made  an  onward  step  in  tbe  intelligence 
and  in  tbe  love   of  law  and  order  among   tbe 


466  William  E.  Gladstone 

working  classes.  They  liad  never  tainted  them- 
selves by  word  or  deed  whicli  would  bring  them 
into  suspicion  in  connection  with  the  mainten- 
ance of  law.  The  leaders  of  the  Land  League 
were  now  put  forward  as  martyrs  on  the  same 
platform  as  O'Connell ;  but  on  every  occasion  of 
his  life-long  agitation  O'Connell  set  himself  to 
avoid  whatever  might  tend  to  a  breach  of  law 
and  order.  Then  Mr.  Gladstone  showed  the 
necessity  of  the  Coercion  Act  from  the  condition 
of  Ireland,  where  during  the  past  year  there 
had  been  a  great  increase  of  crime,  and  the  out- 
rages were  agrarian,  and  not  connected  with  the 
distress.  It  was  a  significant  fact  that  the 
agrarian  outrages  had  risen  and  fallen  with  the 
meetings  of  the  Land  League.  Nothing  could  be 
more  idle  than  to  confound  the  agrarian  crime  of 
Ireland  with  the  ordinary  crime  of  England,  or 
even  of  Ireland.  In  regard  to  general  crime, 
Ireland  held  a  high  and  honorable  place,  but  how 
different  was  the  case  with  agrarian  crime !  He 
referred  to  the  miscarriage  of  justice  in  Ireland, 
and  said  that  the  bill,  if  passed,  would  restore  to 
Ireland  the  first  conditions  of  Christian  and 
civilized  existence.  But  it  ^'  only  irritated  while 
it  failed  to  terrify." 

Mr.  Gladstone's  was  a  great  speech  and 
showed  his  mastery  of  details,  and  his  power  of 
expounding  and  illustrating  broad  and  general 


Gladstone  amd  His  8on  Herbert. 


Of  THE  S 

UNIVERSITY   ) 


OF 


Midlothian  and  the  Second  Premiership  469 

principles.  He  began  liis  exposition  by  con- 
fessing that  it  was  tbe  most  difficult  question 
with  wbicli  lie  had  ever  been  called  upon  to 
deal.  He  concluded  with  an  eloquent  invocation 
to  justice. 

On  the  19th  of  April,  1881,  Lord  Beacons- 
field  died.  For  many  years  he  and  Mr.  Glad- 
stone had  been  at  the  head  of  their  respective 
parties.  "Their  opposition,  as  one  critic  has 
well  and  tersely  put  it,  like  that  of  Pitt  and 
Fox,  was  one  of  temperament  and  character 
as  well  as  of  genius,  position  and  political  opin- 
ions." The  Premier  paid  an  eloquent  tribute  to 
him  and  proposed  a  public  funeral,  which  was 
declined.  Mr.  Gladstone  then  moved  for  a  monu- 
ment in  Westminster  Abbey  to  the  memory  of 
the  deceased  Earl. 

In  October,  1881,  Mr.  Gladstone  made  a 
visit  to  Leeds,  for  which  borough  he  was 
returned  in  1880,  but  for  which  his  son  Herbert 
sat.  He  delivered  several  important  addresses 
on  subjects  which  then  absorbed  the  public 
attention,  especially  dealing  with  the  land 
question  local  government,  and  Free  Trade 
versus  Fair  Trade.     Mr.  Gladstone  said : 

"  My  boyhood  was  spent  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Mersey,  and  in  those  days  I  used  to  see 
those  beautiful  American  liners,  the  packets 
between  New  York  and  Liverpool,  which  then 
conducted  the  bulk  and  the  pick  of  the  trade 


470  William  E.  Gladstone 

between  the  two  countries.  The  Americans 
were  then  deemed  to  be  so  entirely  superior  to 
us  in  shipbuilding  and  navigation  that  they  had 
four-fifths  of  t  he  whole  trade  between  the  two 
countries  in  their  hands,  and  that  four-fifths 
was  the  best  of  the  trade.  What  is  the  case 
now,  when  free  trade  has  operated  and  has 
applied  its  stimulus  to  the  intelligence  of  Eng- 
land, and  when,  on  the  other  hand,  the  action 
of  the  Americans  has  been  restrained  by  the 
enactment,  the  enhancement  and  the  tighten- 
ing of  the  protective  system  ?  The  scales  are 
exactly  reversed,  and  instead  of  America  doing 
four-fifths  and  that  the  best,  we  do  four-fifths  of 
the  business,  and  the  Americans  pick  up  the 
leavings  of  the  British  and  transact  the  residue 
of  the  trade.  Not  because  they  are  inferior  to 
us  in  anything ;  it  would  be  a  fatal  error  to 
suppose  it ;  not  because  they  have  less  intelli- 
gence or  less  perseverance.  They  are  your 
descendants  ;  they  are  your  kinsmen*;  and  they 
are  fully  equal  to  you  in  all  that  goes  to  make 
human  energy  and  power ;  but  they  are  labor- 
ing under  the  delusion  from  which  you  your- 
selves have  but  recently  escaped,  and  in  which 
some  misguided  fellow-citizens  seek  again  to 
entangle  you. 

"  I  am  reminded  that  I  was  guilty  on  a  cer- 
tain occasion  of  stating  in  an  article — n®t  a 
political  article — that,  in  my  opinion,  it  was  far 


Midlothian  and  the  Second  Premiership   471 

from  improbable  tbat  as  tbe  volume  of  the 
future  was  unrolled,  America,  with  its  vast 
population  and  its  wonderful  resources,  and  not 
less  with  that  severe  education  which,  from  the 
high  price  of  labor,  America  is  receiving  in  the 
strong  necessity  of  resorting  to  every  descrip- 
tion of  labor-saving  contrivances,  and  conse- 
quent development,  not  only  on  a  large  scale, 
but  down  to  the  smallest  scale  of  mechanical 
genius  of  the  country — on  that  account  the  day 
may  come  when  that  country  may  claim  to  pos- 
sess the  commercial  primacy  of  the  world,  I 
gave  sad  offence  to  many.  I  at  present  will  say 
this,  that  as  long  as  America  adheres  to  the 
protective  system  your  commercial  primacy  is 
secure.  Nothing  in  the  world  can  wrest  it  from 
you  while  America  continues  to  fetter  her  own 
strong  hands  and  arms,  and  with  these  fettered 
arms  is  content  to  compete  with  you,  who  are 
free,  in  neutral  markets.  And  as  long  as 
America  follows  the  doctrine  of  protection,  or 
the  doctrines  now  known  as  those  of  *fair 
trade,'  you  are  perfectly  safe,  and  you  need  not 
allow,  any  of  you,  even  your  slightest  slumbers 
to  be  disturbed  by  the  fear  that  America  will 
take  from  you  your  commercial  primacy." 

After  his  return  to  London  Mr.  Gladstone 
received  an  address  from  the  Corporation,  setting 
forth  the  long  services  he  had  rendered  to 
the  country.      Mr.    Gladstone,     in    his    reply, 


472  William  E.  Gladstone 

touched  upon  Irish  obstruction,  and  announced, 
incidentally,  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Pamell.  Mr.  Par- 
nell,  the  leader  of  the  Irish  party,  having  openly 
defied  the  law,  had  been  arrested  and  imprisoned 
without  trial,  under  the  Coercion  Act,  passed 
at    the   last  session. 

On  the  opening  night  of  the  Parliament, 
of  1882,  Mr.  Gladstone  laid  before  the  House 
the  proposed  new  rules  of  Parliamentary  pro- 
cedure. The  cloture^  by  a  bare  majority,  was 
to  be  established,  in  order  to  secure  the  power 
of  closing  debate  by  a  vote  of  the  House. 

The  House  of  Lords  decided  upon  the 
appointment  of  a  Select  Committee  to  inquire 
into  the  working  of  the  Land  Act,  including  the 
alleged  total  collapse  of  the  clauses  relating  to 
purchase,  emigration,  and  arrears.  The  Prime 
Minister  in  the  House  of  Commons  introduced  a 
resolution  condemning  the  proposed  inquiry  as 
tending  to  defeat  the  operation  of  the  Land  Act 
and  as  injurious  to  the  good  government  of 
Ireland. 

Early  in  May,  1882,  the  whole  country  was 
startled  and  terrified  by  the  news  of  the  assassi- 
nation of  Lord  Frederick  Cavendish,  the  new 
chief  secretary  for  Ireland,  and  Mr.  Burke^ 
under-secretary,  in  the  Phoenix  Park,  Dublin.  A 
social  revolution  was  raging  in  Ireland.  Out- 
rages and  murders  had  been  fearfully  frequent, 
and  such  brutal    murders    as    those  of   Mrs, 


Midlothian  and  the  Second  Premiership   473 

Smythe  and  Mr.  Herbert  had  filled  England 
with  terror.  In  the  first  week  of  May  annonnce- 
ment  was  made  that  Earl  Cowper  had  resigned 
the  Viceroy  alty.  Rather  than  share  the  respon- 
sibility of  releasing  Mr.  Pamell,  Mr.  Dillon  and 
Mr.  O'Kelly,  Mr.  Forster  left  the  Cabinet. 
Lord  Spencer  was  appointed  to  the  Viceroyalty, 
and  Lord  Frederick  Cavendish  succeeded 
Mr.  Forster,  and  two  days  thereafter  all 
England  was  thrilled  with  sorrow  and  indigna- 
tion by  the  terrible  news  of  the  assassination  in 
Phoenix  Park.  The  news  shattered  the  hopes  of 
many  concerning  Ireland,  and  fell  with  special 
severity  upon  Mr.  Gladstone,  because  he  and 
Lord  Cavendish  enjoyed  the  closest  friendship. 
The  government  presented  a  Prevention  of 
Crimes  Bill  of  a  very  stringent  character.  In 
the  course  of  debate  warm  discussions  arose 
over  an  ^*  understanding "  called,  "  The  Kil- 
mainham  Compact,"  but  Mr.  Gladstone  success- 
fully defended  the  government  in  regard  to  its 
supposed  negotiations  with  Mr.  Parnell.  This 
bill  was  directed  against  secret  societies  and 
illegal  combinations,  and  it  was  hoped  that  as 
the  Land  League  party  had  expressed  its  horror 
at  the  Phoenix  Park  crime,  and  charged  that  it 
was  the  work  of  American  conspirators,  they 
would  allow  the  measure  speedily  to  become 
law.  Mr.  Bright  declared  that  the  bill  would 
harm  no  inuQc^nt  p^r^on,  an4  ^xplain^d  bis  owu 


474 


William  E.  Gladstone 


doctrine,  tliat  "  Force  is  no  remedy,"  was 
intended  to  apply  not  to  outrages,  but  to  griev- 
ances. For  three  weeks  Mr.  Parnell  and  his 
followers  obstructed  legislation  in  every  con- 
ceivable way,  and  were  finally  suspended  for 
systematic  obstructioUo  The  obstructionists 
removed,  the  bill  was  then  passed,  after  a  sitting 
of  twenty-eight  hours.  The  measure  was  passed 
by  the  Lords  July  7th,  and  the  Queen  signed 
the  bill  July  12th.  A  crisis  nearly  arose  between 
the  Lords  and  the  Commons  over  the  Irish 
Arrears  Bill,  but  the  Lords  finally  yielded. 


A:~_« 


m^M^Mm^^^4^^k=r~ 


-^^ 


OaLLEEY  of  THS  nOUSE  QF  C0M]VJ0N9. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
Third  Administration  and  Home  Rule 

/IT  is  our  purpose  next  to  trace  the  events 
^^y  that  led  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Second 
^^  Administration  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  and 
to  the  formation  of  his  Third  Cabinet. 
The  question  that  seemed  to  begin  the 
work  of  weakening  the  foundations  of  his  exist- 
ing government  was  their  policy  in  regard  to 
Egypt,  which  began  with  the  occupation  of 
Egypt  in  1882. 

The  budget  of  the  session  of  1882  was 
presented  by  Mr.  Gladstone  April  24th.  It  was 
not  expected  that  anything  novel  in  the  way  of 
legislation  would  be  attempted  in  it.  But  its 
main  interest  was  in  this,  that  it  proposed  a  vote 
of  credit  for  the  Egyptian  Expedition,  which  was 
to  be  provided  for  by  addition  to  the  income-tax, 
making  it  sixpence  half-penny  in  the  pound  for 
the  year.  The  financial  proposals  were  agreed 
to.  In  the  course  of  the  session  Mr.  Bright 
resigned  his  place  in  the  Cabinet  on  the  ground 

475 


4/6  William  E.  Gladstone 

that  the  intervention  in  Egypt  was  a  manifest 
violation  of  the  moral  law,  that  the  Government 
had  interfered  by  force  of  arms  in  Egypt,  and 
directed  the  bombardment  of  Alexandria.  Mr. 
Gladstone  denied  that  the  Ministry  were  at  war 
with  Egypt,  and  stated  that  the  measures  taken  at 
Alexandria  were  strictly  measures  of  self-defence. 
In  justifying  his  resignation  Mr.  Bright  said 
there  had  been  a  manifest  violation  of  the  moral 
law ;  but  the  Premier,  while  agreeing  with  his 
late  colleague  generally  on  the  question  of  the 
moral  law  differed  from  him  as  to  this  particular 
application  of  it. 

The  Prime  Minister  attended  the  Lord 
Mayor's  Banquet  at  the  Mansion  House,  August  9, 
1882.  In  replying  to  the  toast  to  Her  Majesty's 
Ministers,  after  some  preliminary  remarks,  Mr. 
Gladstone  alluded  to  the  campaign  in  Egypt, 
which  had  been  so  much  discussed,  and  said : 
"  Let  it  be  well  understood  for  what  we  go  and 
for  what  we  do  not  go  to  Egypt.  We  do  not  go 
to  make  war  on  its  people,  but  to  rescue  them 
from  the  oppression  of  a  military  tyranny  which 
at  present  extinguishes  every  free  voice  and 
chains  every  man  of  the  people  of  that  country. 
We  do  not  go  to  make  war  on  the  Mohammedan 
religion,  for  it  is  amongst  the  proudest  distinc- 
tions of  Christianity  to  establish  tolerance,  and 
we  know  that  wherever  the  British  rule  exists, 
the  same  respect  which  we  claim  for  the  exercise 


lEiaH  Leadeks  of  the  Gladstojnian  Epoch. 


Third  Administration  and  Home  Rule     479 

of  our  own  conscientious  convictions  is  yielded  to 
the  professors  of  every  other  faith  on  the  surface  of 
the  globe.  We  do  not,  my  Lord  Mayor,  go  to 
repress  the  growth  of  Egyptian  liberties.  We 
wish  them  well ;  for  we  have  no  other  interest  in 
Egypt,  which  cannot  in  any  other  way  so  well  and 
so  effectually  attain  her  own  prosperity  as  by  the 
enjoyment  of  a  well  regulated,  and  an  expand- 
ing freedom." 

Mr.  Gladstone's  confidence  respecting  the 
early  termination  of  the  war  in  Egypt  was 
somewhat  justified  by  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley's 
victory  at  Tel-el-Kebir,  but  the  future  relations 
of  England  with  Egypt  were  still  left  an  open 
subject  of  discussion  and  speculation.  Again, 
November  9th,  at  the  banquet  at  the  Guild- 
hall, to  the  Cabinet  Ministers,  Mr.  Gladstone 
spoke.  He  called  attention  to  the  settlement  of 
the  troubles  in  the  East  of  Europe,  congratulating 
his  hearers  on  the  removal  by  the  naval  and 
military  forces  of  the  Egyptian  difficulty,  and 
calling  attention  to  Ireland,  compared  its  condition 
with  that  of  the  previous  March  and  October, 
1 88 1,  showing  a  diminution  of  agrarian  crime  to 
the  extent  of  four-fifths.  This  happy  result  had 
been  brought  about,  not  by  coercive  means  alone, 
but  by  the  exercise  of  remedial  measures.  "  If 
the  people  of  Ireland  were  willing  to  walk  in 
the  ways  of  legality,  England  was  strong,  and 
generous,   and   free   enough   to   entertain    in   a 


48o  William  E.  Gladstone 

friendly  and  kindly  spirit  any  demand  wHicli 
they  might  make." 

On  the  13th  of  December,  1882,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's political  jubilee  was  celebrated.  Fifty 
years  before,  on  that  day,  he  had  been  returned 
to  Parliament  as  member  for  Newark.  A  large 
number  of  congratulatory  addresses,  letters,  and 
telegrams  complimenting  him  on  the  completion 
of  his  fifty  years  of  parliamentary  service  were 
received  by  him.  He  had  entered  the  first 
Reformed  Parliament  as  a  conservative,  had 
gone  ever  forward  in  the  path  of  reform,  and 
was  yet  to  lead  in  greater  measures  of  reform. 

The  excellent  prospects  regarding  domestic 
measures  with  which  the  session  of  1883  was 
opened  were  dispelled  by  prolonged  and  fruitless 
debates  on  measures  proposed  and  on  the  address 
from  the  Queen.  But  Mr.  Gladstone  was  absent, 
the  state  of  his  health  requiring  him  to  pass 
several  weeks  at  Cannes.  He  returned  home  in 
March  greatly  invigorated,  and  at  once  threw 
himself  with  wonted  ardour  into  the  parliamentary 
conflict.  Mr.  Parnell  offered  a  bill  to  amend  the 
Irish  Land  Act  of  1887,  which  was  opposed  by 
the  Premier  and  lost. 

An  af&rmation  bill  was  introduced  at  this 
session  by  the  Government,  which  provided  that 
members  who  objected  to  taking  the  oath  might 
have  the  privilege  of  affirming.  The  opposition 
spoke  of  the  measure  as  a  ''  Bradlaugh  Relief 


Third  Administration  and  Home  Rule     481 

Bill."  Its  rejection  was  moved,  and  in  its  defense 
Mr.  Gladstone  made  one  of  his  best  speeches, 
which  was  warmly  applanded.  He  said :  "  I  must 
painfully  record  my  opinion,  that  grave  injury 
has  been  done  to  religion  in  many  minds — not  in 
instructed  minds,  but  in  those  which  are  ill-in- 
structed or  partially  instructed — in  consequence 
of  things  which  ought  never  to  have  occurred. 
Great  mischief  has  been  done  in  many  minds  by 
a  resistance  offered  to  the  man  elected  by  the  con- 
stituency of  Northampton,  which  a  portion  of  the 
people  believe  to  be  unjust.  When  they  see  the 
profession  of  religion  and  the  interests  of  re- 
ligion, ostensibly  associated  with  what  they  are 
deeply  convinced  is  injustice^  it  leads  to  questions 
about  religion  itself,  which  commonly  end  in 
impairing  those  convictions,  and  that  belief,  the 
loss  of  which  I  believe  to  be  the  most  inexpressi- 
ble calamity  which  can  fall  either  upon  a  man  or 
upon  a  nation."     But  the  measure  was  lost. 

During  the  session  of  1883  the  Bankruptcy 
Bill  and  the  Patents  Bill  were  both  passed,  and 
effected  reforms  which  had  long  been  felt  to  be 
necessary.  The  Corrupt  Practices  Act  was  de- 
signed to  remove  from  British  parliamentary  and 
borough  elections  the  stigma  which  attached  to 
them  in  so  many  parts  of  the  country.  The 
Government  was  checked,  however,  in  its  policy 
in  the  Transvaal,  and  Mr.  Childers'  action  in 
regard  to  the  Suez  Canal. 


482  William  E.  Gladstone 

Mr.  Gladstone  attended,  in  March,  the  cele- 
bration of  the  inauguration  of  the  National  Liberal 
party,  predicting  for  it  a  useful  and  brilliant 
future,  if  it  remained  faithful  to  its  time-honored 
principles  and  traditions. 

Sir  Stafford  Northcote,  in  the  session  of  1884, 
moved  a  vote  of  censure,  and  vigorously  attacked 
the  Egyptian  policy  of  the  administration.  Mr. 
Gladstone  defended  the  ministerial  action  with 
spirit  and  effect.  He  declared  that  the  Govern- 
ment had  found,  and  not  made,  the  situation  in 
Egypt  and  the  Soudan.  The  Prime  Minister 
"  traced  all  the  mischief  to  Lord  Salisbury's  dual 
control.  Though  the  motive  and  object  had  been 
to  secure  a  better  government  for  Egypt,  a  great 
error  had  been  committed.  The  British  Govern- 
ment had  fulfilled  all  the  obligations  imposed 
upon  them,  and  they  were  acting  for  the  benefit 
of  the  civilized  world.  Reforms  had  been  effected 
in  the  judicature,  legislature,  police,  and  military 
organizations  of  Egypt ;  and  they  were  resolved 
to  see  all  the  vital  points  recommended  carried 
out  by  the  Khedive's  Government.  As  to  the 
war  in  the  Soudan,  it  was  hateful  to  the  people  of 
Egypt ;  and  England  declined  to  have  anything 
to  do  with  the  reconquest  of  the  Soudan.  *  *  * 
General  Gordon,  whom  Mr.  Gladstone  character- 
ized as  a  hero  and  a  genius,  had  been  despatched 
to  Khartoum  for  the  purpose  of  withdrawing,  if 


Third  Administration  and  Home  Rule      483 

possible,  in  safety  the  29,000  soldiers  of  the  Khe- 
dive scattered  over  the  Soudan.  The  GeneraVs 
mission  was  not  the  reconquest  of  the  Soudan, 
but  its  peaceful  evacuation,  and  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  country,  by  giving  back  to  the  Sultan 
the  ancestral  power  which  had  been  suspended 
during  the  Egyptian  occupation.  The  Govern- 
ment had  to  consider  in  any  steps  which  they 
took  the  danger  of  thwarting  Gordon's  peaceful 
mission  and  endangering  his  life."  Mr.  Gladstone 
said  that  the  policy  of  the  Government  was  to 
"  rescue  and  retire."  Sir  S.  Northcote's  resolu- 
tion was  rejected  by  311  to  292  votes,  showing  the 
growing  strength  of  the  Opposition. 

The  pacific  mission  of  General  Gordon  to 
Khartoum  having  failed,  there  was  great  solici- 
tude felt  for  that  gallant  soldier's  welfare  and 
safety.  Sir  M.  Hicks-Beach  offered  another  vote 
of  censure,  complaining  of  the  dilatory  conduct  of 
the  Government  for  not  taking  steps  to  secure  the 
safety  of  General  Gordon.  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  re- 
ply, admitted  the  obligations  of  the  Government 
to  General  Gordon,  and  stated  that  on  reasonable 
proof  of  danger  he  would  be  assisted.  "The 
nation  would  never  grudge  adequate  efforts  for 
the  protection  of  its  agents,  but  it  was  the  duty 
of  the  Government  to  consider  the  treasure,  the 
blood,  and  the  honor  of  the  country,  together  with 
the  circumstances  of  the  time,  the  season,  the 
climate,  and  the  military  difficulties.     Conscious 


484  William  e.  Gladstone 

of  what  tlieir  obligations  were,  they  would  con- 
tinue to  use  tlieir  best  endeavours  to  fulfil  tHem, 
unmoved  by  tbe  tbreats  and  tbe  captious  criti- 
cisms of  tbe  Opposition."  Tbe  proposed  censure 
was  defeated. 

A  conference  of  European  powers  was  Held 
on  Egyptian  affairs,  but  was  abortive;  and  Mr. 
Gladstone  while  announcing  that  he  wished  to 
get  out  of  Egypt  as  soon  as  circumstances  would 
allow,  admitted  that  institutions,  however  good, 
were  not  likely  to  survive  the  withdrawal  of  our 
troops.  Lord  Northbrook  was  next  despatched 
by  the  government  on  a  mission  to  Egypt,  with 
the  object  of  rescuing  her  from  her  financial 
embarrassments,  and  averting  the  impending 
dangers  of  a  national  bankruptcy. 

In  February,  1884,  M^-  Gladstone  intro- 
duced the  Government  Franchise  Bill  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  It  was  a  great  measure 
and  proposed  to  complete  the  work  of  parliamen- 
tary reform  by  conferring  the  suffrage  upon  every 
person  in  the  United  Kingdom  who  was  the  head 
of  a  household.  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  the 
results  of  the  bill  would  be  to  add  to  the  English 
constituency  upwards  of  1,300,000  voters  ;  to  the 
Scotch  constituency  over  200,000  voters ;  and  to 
the  Irish  constituency  over  400,000  voters ; 
which  would  add  to  the  aggregate  constituency 
of  the  United  Kingdom,  which  was  then 
3,000,000    voters,    2,000,000    more,    or    nearly 


Third  Administration  and  Home  Rule     48$ 

twice  as  many  as  were  added  in  1832.  The 
Premier  appealed  for  union  on  this  great  reform, 
and  observed :  "  Let  us  hold  firmly  together,  and 
success  will  crown  our  efforts.  You  will,  as 
much  as  any  former  Parliament  that  has  con- 
ferred great  legislative  benefits  on  the  nation, 
have  your  reward,  and  read  your  history  in  a 
nation's  eyes  ;  for  you  will  have  deserved  all  the 
benefits  you  will  have  conferred.  You  will  have 
made  a  strong  nation  stronger  still — stronger  in 
union  without,  and  stronger  against  its  foes  (if 
and  when  it  has  any  foes)  within ;  stronger  in 
union  between  class  and  class,  and  in  rallying 
all  classes  and  portions  of  the  community  in 
one  solid  compact  mass  round  the  ancient 
Throne  which  it  has  loved  so  well,  and  round 
the  Constitution,  now  to  be  more  than  ever  free 
and  more  than  ever  powerful." 

The  measure  was  warmly  debated.  Besides 
this  opposition  there  were,  outside  of  the  House, 
ominous  utterances  threatening  the  rejection  of 
the  scheme.  Mr.  Gladstone,  referring  to  these 
hostile  murmurings,  said  that  hitherto  the  atti- 
tude of  the  government  had  been,  in  Shakes- 
peare's words,  "  Beware  of  entrance  to  a 
quarrel ;  but,  being  in,  bear  it,  that  the  opposer 
may  beware  of  thee."  He  deprecated  a  quarrel 
and  declared  that  the  government  had  done 
everything  to  prevent  a  collision  between  the 
two    Houses   of    Parliament    on   this   question, 


486  William  E.  Gladstone 

whicli  would  open  up  a  prospect  more  serious 
tHan  any  lie  remembered  since  the  first  Reform 
Bill. 

THe  House  of  Lords  passed  a  resolution  to 
the  effect  that  the  Lords  would  not  concur  in 
any  measure  of  reform  without  having  the  com- 
plete bill  before  them,  including  the  redistribu- 
tion and  registration,  as  well  as  an  extension  of 
the  suffrage.  The  Premier  promised  to  intro- 
duce a  Redistribution  Bill  in  the  following  ses- 
sion, but  Lord  Salisbury,  since  the  death  of 
Lord  Beaconsfield,  the  leader  of  the  Conserva- 
tive party,  declined  to  discuss  the  Redistribution 
Bill,  "  with  a  rope  around  his  neck,"  by  which  he 
meant  a  franchise  act  under  which  his  party 
mtist  appeal  to  the  country.  Negotiations  fol- 
lowed between  the  Liberal  and  Conservative 
leaders  with  fruitless  results,  and  the  House  of 
Lords  finally  passed  a  resolution  that  it  would 
be  desirable  for  Parliament  to  have  an  autumn 
session,  to  consider  the  Representation  of  the 
People  Bill,  in  connection  with  the  Redistribu- 
tion Bill,  which  the  government  had  brought 
before  Parliament. 

Public  meetings  were  held  at  various  places 
throughout  the  country,  and  the  question  of  the 
enlargement  of  the  franchise  discussed.  The 
policy  of  the  Tories  was  strongly  condemned  at 
many  large  and  influential  public  gatherings. 
In   August  Mr.  Gladstone   visited    Midlothian 


Third  Administration  and  Home  Rule      489 

and  delivered  a  powerful  address  in  the  Edin- 
burgh Corn  Exchange.  He  explained  that  the 
special  purpose  for  which  he  appeared  before  his 
constituents  was  to  promote,  by  every  legitimate 
means  in  his  power,  the  speedy  passage  of  the 
Franchise  Bill.  ^' The  unfortunate  rejection  of 
the  measure,"  he  observed,  "  had  already  drawn 
in  its  train  other  questions  of  the  gravest  kind, 
and  the  vast  proportion  of  the  people  would 
soon  be  asking  whether  an  organic  change  was 
not  required  in  the  House  of  Lords.  He,  how- 
ever, did  not  believe  that  the  House  of  Lords  had 
as  yet  placed  itself  in  a  position  of  irretrievable 
error.  He  believed  that  it  was  possible  for  it  to 
go  back,  and  to  go  back  with  dignity  and  honor. 
With  regard  to  the  foreign  policy  of  the 
Government,  which  had  been  attacked  and 
compared  unfavorably  with  the  Midlothian  pro- 
gramme of  1879,  Mr.  Gladstone  defended  it  with 
spirit.  He  expressed  his  satisfaction  with  the 
expansion  of  Germany  abroad,  and  reviewed  the 
policy  of  the  Government  in  Eastern  Europe, 
Afghanistan,  India  and  South  Africa.  As  to  the 
Transvaal,  he  contended  that  "they  were  strong 
and  could  afford  to  be  merciful,"  and  that  it 
was  not  possible  without  the  grossest  and  most 
shameful  breach  of  faith  to  persist  in  holding 
the  Boers  to  annexation,  "  when  we  had  pledged 
ourselves  beforehand  that  they  should  not  be 
annexed  except  with  their  own  good  will."    In 


490  William  E.  Gladstone 

reply  to  the  oft-repeated  question,  ^'  What  took 
you  to  Egypt?"  the  Premier  said:  ^'  Honor  and 
plighted  faith."  The  covenants  they  were  keep- 
ing were  those  entered  into  by  their  Tory  pre- 
decessors, and  most  unfortunate  and  most  unwise 
he  considered  them  to  be.  The  Government  had 
respected  the  sovereignty  of  the  Porte  and  the 
title  of  the  European  Powers  to  be  concerned  in 
all  matters  territorially  affecting  the  Turkish 
Empire ;  they  had  discouraged  the  spirit  of  ag- 
gression as  well  as  they  could,  and  had  con- 
tracted no  embarrassing  engagements.  Great 
improvements  had  been  introduced  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  Egypt,  but  he  regretted  the  total 
failure  of  the  late  Conference  of  the  Powers  to 
solve  the  problem  of  Egyptian  finance.  With 
regard  to  General  Gordon  the  Government  were 
considering  the  best  means  to  be  adopted  for 
fulfilling  their  obligations. 

Parliament  met  in  October,  1884.  The 
Franchise  Bill  was  introduced  and  sent  to  the 
House  of  Lords,  and  the  Redistribution  Bill, 
upon  which  a  compromise  with  the  Conservatives 
had  been  reached,  was  presented  in  the  House  of 
Commons.  The  measure,  as  altered,  proposed 
to  disfranchise  all  boroughs  with  a  population 
under  15,000,  to  give  only  one  member  to  towns 
with  a  population  between  15,000  and  50,000, 
and  to  take  one  member  each  from  the  counties^ 


Third  Administration  and  Home  Rule     491 

of  Rutland  and  Hereford.  By  this  arrange- 
ment one  hundred  and  sixty  seats  would  be 
"  extinguished,"  which,  with  the  six  seats  extin- 
guished before,  would  be  revived  and  distributed 
as  follows :  "  Eight  new  boroughs  would  be 
created,  the  representation  of  London,  Liver- 
pool, and  other  large  cities  and  towns  would 
be  greatly  increased,  while  in  dealing  with  the 
remainder  of  the  seats  unappropriated,  the 
Government  would  apply  equal  electoral  areas 
throughout  the  country."  The  Franchise  Bill — 
a  truly  democratic  bill — was  carried  through  both 
Houses,  and  became  a  law.  The  Redistribution 
Bill  was  carried,  January,  1885,  after  animated 
debate.  Registration  measures  were  also  passed 
for  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland,  which  received 
the  royal  assent  May  21st. 

January,  1885,  Mr.  Gladstone  wrote  a  kindly, 
serious,  yet  courtly  letter  of  congratulation  to 
Prince  Albert  Victor,  eldest  son  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales  and  heir  presumptive  to  the  Crown,  on 
the  attainment  of  his  majority. 

In  the  hour  of  triumph  the  government  was 
doomed  to  receive  a  stunning  blow.  The  news 
of  the  fall  of  Khartoum  and  the  untimely  death 
of  General  Gordon  sent  a  thrill  of  horror  and 
indignation  throughout  England.  The  govern- 
ment was  seriously  condemned  for  its  pro- 
crastination in  not  sending  timely  relief,  for  the 
rescue  of  the  imperiled  English.     But  when  the 


492  William  E.  Gladstone 

facts  became  fully  known  it  was  found  tHat  no 
blame  could  be  attached  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  wbo 
was  himself  strongly  moved  by  the  death  of 
General  Gordon,  whose  work  and  character  he 
highly  esteemed.  The  Prime  Minister  was, 
however,  equal  to  the  emergency,  and  announced 
that  it  was  necessary  to  overthrow  the  Mahdi  at 
Khartoum,  to  renew  operations  against  Osman 
Digna,  and  to  construct  a  railway  from  Suakin 
to  Berber  with  a  view  to  a  campaign  in  the 
fall.  The  reserves  were  called  out  by  royal 
proclamation. 

However,  these  measures  met  with  opposi- 
tion. Sir  Stafford  Northcote  brought  forward  a 
motion  afiirming  that  the  risks  and  sacrifices 
which  the  government  appeared  to  be  ready  to 
encounter  could  only  be  justified  by  a  distinct 
recognition  of  England's  responsibility  for  Egypt, 
and  those  portions  of  the  Soudan  which  were 
necessary  to  its  security.  An  amendment  was 
proposed  by  Mr.  John  Morley,  but  regretting  its 
decision  to  continue  the  conflict  with  the  Mahdi. 
Mr.  Gladstone  replied  forcibly  to  both  motion 
and  amendment,  and  appealed  to  the  Liberal 
party  to  sustain  the  administration  and  its  policy 
by  an  unmistakable  vote  of  confidence.  The 
government  was  sustained. 

The  Great  Powers  of  Europe,  in  convention 
for  the  settlement  of  the  finances  of  Egypt, 
bad  concluded  that  it  would  require  a  loan  of 


Third  Administration  and  Home  Rule      493 

^9,000,000  to  save  Egypt  from  bankruptcy. 
This  loan  was  to  be  issued  on  an  international 
guarantee,  with  an  international  inquiry  at  the 
end  of  two  years  into  the  success  of  the  scheme. 
This  plan  of  adjustment  was  agreed  to  by  the 
House.  A  short  time  after  this  settlement 
Mr.  Gladstone  announced  a  vote  of  credit  to 
provide  against  any  danger  from  Russian  action, 
stated  that  no  farther  operations  would  be  under- 
taken either  on  the  Nile  or  near  Suakin,  and 
that  General  Graham's  campaign  would  be 
abandoned,  as  well  as  the  construction  of  the 
new  railway. 

Great  excitement  was  created  in  England 
by  the  announcement  of  the  advance  of  the 
Russians  on  the  Indian  frontier.  March  13th 
Mr.  Gladstone  stated  in  the  House  that  as  the 
protests  formerly  made  against  the  advance  of 
Russia  had  been  allowed  to  lapse,  it  had  been 
agreed  that  pending  the  delineation  of  the 
frontier  there  should  be  no  further  advance  on 
either  side.  In  April,  however,  a  conflict  occurred 
between  the  Russians  and  the  Afghans,  which 
seemed  to  indicate  that  General  Komaroff  had 
committed  an  act  of  unprovoked  aggression  on 
the  Ameer.  Mr.  Gladstone  moved  a  vote  of  credit 
on  the  27th  in  a  speech,  whose  eloquence  and 
energy  greatly  stirred  both  sides  of  the  House. 
Happily,  the  difficulty  with  Russia  was  adjusted 


494  William  e.  Gladstone 

by  conceding  Pendjeh  to  Russia  in  consideration 
of  tHe  surrender  of  Zulfiker  to  the  Ameer. 

The  administration  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  which 
had  weathered  through  many  storms,  was  des- 
tined to  fall  in  a  wholly  unexpected  way.  When 
the  budget  for  1885  was  produced  there  was  a 
deficit  of  upwards  of  a  million  pounds,  besides 
the  depressed  revenue  and  an  estimated  expen- 
diture for  the  current  year  of  not  less  than 
;^  100,000,000.  Mr.  Childers,  the  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer,  proposed  to  make  the  taxation 
upon  land  proportionate  to  that  on  personal  prop- 
erty, and  to  augment  the  duties  on  spirits  and 
beer.  But  various  interests  were  antagonized, 
and  opposition  was  aroused.  The  country  mem- 
bers demanded  that  no  new  taxes  be  put  on  the 
land  until  the  promised  relief  of  local  taxation 
had  been  granted.  The  agricultural  and  liquor 
interests  were  discontented,  as  well  as  the  Scotch 
and  Irish  members,  with  the  whisky  duty.  Con- 
cessions were  made,  but  they  failed  to  reconcile 
the  opposition.  A  hostile  motion  was  offered  by 
Sir  M.  Hicks-Beach,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  declared 
that  the  Cabinet  would  resign  if  defeated.  Many 
Liberals  were  absent  when  the  vote  was  taken, 
regarding  a  majority  for  the  Ministry  as  certain, 
but  the  amendment  was  carried  June  9th  by  a 
vote  of  264  to  252,  and  the  Premier  and  his  col- 
leagues resigned.  The  Liberals  were  desirous 
of  passing  a  vote  of  confidence  in  the  adminis- 


Third  Administration  and  Home  Rule      495 

tration,  but  Mr.  Gladstone  deprecated  this,  as  lie 
felt  tlie  situation  to  be  intolerable,  and  was  de- 
sirous of  being  relieved  from  tbe  responsibility  of 
office.  Misfortunes,  botb  in  reference  to  affairs 
at  home  and  abroad,  had  fallen  heavily  upon  the 
Government,  for  many  of  which  they  were  not 
responsible,  and  the  Cabinet  had  been  held 
together  chiefly  by  the  masterly  personality  of 
the  Premier.  Hence  it  was  not  without  a  feel- 
ing of  personal  satisfaction  that  Mr.  Gladstone 
transferred  the  seats  of  office  to  his  successor, 
Lord  Salisbury.  On  his  retirement  from  office 
the  Queen  offered  an  Earldom  to  Mr.  Gladstone, 
which  he  declined.  Its  acceptance  would  have 
meant  burial  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  an  end 
to  his  progressive  action. 

The  events  that  led  to  the  third  administra- 
tion of  Mr.  Gladstone  will  next  engage  our  atten- 
tion. 

The  first  general  election  under  the  New 
Reform  Act  was  held  in  November,  1885.  Mr. 
Gladstone  again  appealed  to  his  constituents,  and, 
although  nearly  seventy-six  years  of  age,  spoke 
with  an  energy  and  force  far  beyond  all  his  con- 
temporaries. His  attitude  on  the  question  of 
Dis-establishment  drew  back  many  wavering 
Scotch  votes.  He  discussed  the  Scotch  question 
at  Edinburgh,  and  said  there  was  no  fear  of 
change  so  long  as  England  dealt  liberally,  equit- 
ably, and  prudently  with  Ireland,  but  demands 


496  William  E.  Gladstone 

must  be  subject  to  tHe  condition  that  the  unity  of 
the  empire,  and  all  the  powers  of  the  Imperial 
Parliament  for  maintaining  that  authority,  must 
be  preserved. 

In  another  address  he  stated  his  conviction 
that  the  day  had  not  come  when  the  Dis-establish- 
ment  of  the  Church  in  Scotland  should  be  made 
a  test  question.  The  question  pressing  for  settle- 
ment by  the  next  Parliament  was  land  reform, 
local  government,  parliamentary  procedure,  and 
the  imperial  relations  between  Ireland  and  Eng- 
land ;  and  every  sensible  man  would  admit  that 
it  was  right  to  direct  attention  to  them  rather 
than  to  a  matter  impossible  of  immediate  solu- 
tion. 

At  West  Calder  Mr.  Gladstone  made  an  ad- 
dress, in  which  he  "  approved  Lord  Salisbury's 
action  with  regard  to  Servia,  complained  of  the 
ministerial  condemnation  of  Lord  Ripon's  Indian 
administration,  ridiculed  the  idea  of  benefit  result- 
ing from  a  Royal  Commission  on  trade  depres- 
sion, warned  the  electors  against  remedies  which 
were  really  worse  than  the  disease,  and  defended 
Free-Trade  principles.  He  furthur  advocated 
comprehensive  land  reforms,  including  free  trans- 
fer, facility  of  registration,  and  the  uprooting  of 
mortmain  " 

Mr.  Gladstone  was  returned  again  for  Mid- 
lothian by  an  overwhelming  majority.  The  elec- 
tions resulted  in  the  return  of  333  Liberals,  249 


f  ^/ 


^i!i&'/a, 


Third  Administration  and  Home  Rule      499 

Conservatives,  86  Parnellites,  and  2  Indepen- 
dents. The  Liberals  thus  secured  a  substantial 
triumph.  The  agricultural  districts  were  faithful 
to  the  Liberals,  but  they  lost  in  the  boroughs. 
The  clergy  and  the  publicans,  and  the  Parnellites 
were  found  "arrayed "in  "  scandalous  alliance" 
against  the  Liberal  cause.  The  Liberal  party 
was  just  short  of  the  numbers  required  to  defeat 
the  combined  forces  of  Tories  and  ParnelKtes. 
Lord  Salisbury  was  retained  in  office,  but  the 
Conservatives  were  disunited,  and  the  life  of  his 
administration  hung  by  a  thread.  The  Liberals 
were  strong,  hopeful,  and  united.  In  Mr.  Cham- 
berlain they  had  a  popular  champion  of  great 
ability  and  industry. 

December  17,  1885  England  was  astonished 
by  the  appearance  of  an  anonymous  paragraph 
in  the  Times ^  affirming  that,  if  Mr.  Gladstone 
returned  to  power,  he  would  deal  with  a  liberal 
hand  with  the  demands  of  Home  Rule.  The 
author  of  the  paragraph  has  never  been  clearly 
ascertained,  but  the  atmosphere  of  mystery  with 
which  it  was  surrounded  was  not  regarded  as 
becoming,  either  to  such  an  important  policy  or 
to  the  personal  dignity  of  the  illustrious  states- 
man. A  storm  of  questions,  contradictions, 
explanations,  enthusiasms,  and  jeremiads  fol- 
lowed its  appearance.  Mr.  ^Gladstone  would 
neither  affirm  nor  deny,  but  held  his  peace. 
The  question,  he  said,  was  one  for  a  responsible 


500  William  E.  Gladstone 

Ministry  alone  to  handle.  There  was  great 
uncertainty.  It  was,  however,  plain  that  if 
Mr.  Gladstone  should  favor  Home  Rule,  the 
Parnellites  would  support  him,  and  the  Tories 
must  leave  office.  But  only  twelve  months  before 
Lord  Shaftesbury  wrote :  *^  In  a  year  or  so  we 
shall  have  Home  Rule  disposed  of  (at  all 
hazards),  to  save  us  from  daily  and  hourly 
bores." 

The  Parliament  of  1886  had  scarcely  opened 
before  the  Salisbury  government  was  defeated 
upon  an  amendment  to  the  Queen's  address, 
affirming  the  necessity  for  affiDrding  facilities  to 
agricultural  laborers  to  obtain  allotments  and 
small  holdings.  Some  of  the  leading  Liberals 
opposed  the  amendment,  but  Mr.  Gladstone 
earnestly  favored  it,  as  a  recognition  of  the  evils 
arising  from  the  divorce  of  so  large  a  proportion 
of  the  population  from  the  land.  The  Irish 
and  the  Liberals  coalesced,  and  the  Government 
was  placed  in  a  minority  of  seventT^-nine,  and 
Lord  Salisbury  immediately  resigned. 

Late  at  night,  January  29,  1886,  Tjir  Henry 
Ponsonby  arrived  at  Mr.  Gladstone's  residence 
with  a  summons  from  the  Queen  for  him  to 
repair  to  her  at  Osborne.  On  the  ist  of  Feb- 
ruary Mr.  Gladstone  "  kissed  hands,"  and 
became  for  the  third  time  Prime  Minister  of 
England.  The  new  Premier  was  forced  to  face 
unusual   difficulties,    but    he    finally    came    to 


Third  Administration  and  Home  Rule     501 

the  conclusion  that  it  was  impossible  to  deal 
with  the  Irish  question  upon  the  old  stereotyped 
lines.  He  was  resolved  to  treat  this  subject 
upon  large  and  generous  principles.  Accord- 
ingly, on  the  8th  of  April,  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  the 
presence  of  a  crowded  House,  brought  forward 
his  Home  Rule  Bill — his  bill  for  the  government 
of  Ireland.  With  certain  imperial  reservations 
and  safeguards  the  bill  gave  to  Ireland  what  she 
had  long  demanded — the  right  to  make  her  own 
laws.  The  interest  in  the  expected  legislation 
was  so  great  that  members  began  to  arrive  at 
half-past  five  in  the  morning,  while  sixty  of 
them  were  so  eager  to  secure  seats  that  they 
breakfasted  at  Westminster. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  new  measure  was  not  only 
opposed  by  the  Conservatives,  but  it  alienated 
from  the  Premier  some  of  the  most  influential  of 
the  Liberal  party.  Among  the  Liberals  who 
opposed  the  measure  were  those  who  had  been 
the  colleagues  of  Mr.  Gladstone  only  the  June 
before  in  the  Cabinet — Lord  Hartington,  Lord 
Shilborne,  Lord  Northbrook,  Lord  Derby  and 
Lord  Carlingford.  Mr.  Gladstone's  forces,  how- 
ever, were  reinforced  by  Mr.  Morley,  Lord 
Herschell  and  others.  May  lOth,  Mr.  Gladstone 
denied  that  he  had  ever  declared  Home  Rule  for 
Ireland  incompatible  with  Imperial  unity.  It 
was  a  remedy  for  social  disorder.     The  policy  of 


502  William  E.  Gladstone 

tHe  opposition  was  coercion,  while  that  of  the 
government  was  autonomy. 

On  the  1 8th  of  April  the  Premier  presented 
the  Irish  Land  Purchase  Bill,  for  the  buying 
out  of  the  Irish  landlords,  which  was  intended 
to  come  into  operation  on  the  same  day  as  the 
Home  Rule  Bill.  The  object  of  this  measure 
was  to  give  to  all  Irish  landowners  the  option  of 
being  bought  out  on  the  terms  of  the  Act,  and 
opening  towards  the  exercise  of  that  option 
where  their  rent  was  from  agricultural  land. 
The  State  authority  was  to  be  the  purchaser, 
and  the  occupier  was  to  be  the  proprietor. 
The  nominal  purchase  price  was  fixed  at  twenty 
years'  purchase  of  the  net  rental,  ascertained  by 
deducting  law  charges,  bad  debts,  and  cost  of 
management  from  judicial  rent.  Where  there 
was  no  judicial  rental  the  Land  Court  could,  if  it 
chose,  make  use  of  Griffiths'  valuation  for  com- 
ing to  a  fair  decision.  To  meet  the  demand 
for  the  means  of  purchase  thus  established, 
Mr.  Gladstone  proposed  to  create  ^50,000,000 
three  per  cents.  The  repayment  of  advances 
would  be  secured  by  a  Receiver  General, 
appointed  by  and  acting  upon  British  authority. 

The  Land  Purchase  Bill  was  also  opposed. 
It  was  the  final  cause  which  led  to  the  retirement 
from  the  government  of  Mr.  Chamberlain,  "  the 
able  and  enterprising  exponent  of  the  new  Radi- 
calism."    He  was  soon  followed  by  Sir  George 


Third  Administration  and  Home  Rule     503 

Trevelyan,  "  who  combined  the  most  dignified 
traditions,  social  and  literary,  of  the  Whig  party 
with  a  fervent  and  stable  Liberalism  which  the 
vicissitudes  of  twenty  years  had  constantly 
tried  and  never  found  wanting."  Mr.  Bright 
also  arrayed  himself  in  opposition  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  accused  Mr.  Gladstone  of  successfully 
concealing  his  thoughts  upon  the  Irish  question 
in  November.  Mr.  Gladstone  replied  that  the 
position  of  Ireland  had  changed  since  1881. 

The  debate  extended  over  many  nights,  and 
the  opposition  to  the  Irish  bills  of  so  many  Lib- 
eral leaders  in  every  constituency,  soon  led  to 
disaffection  among  the  people.  What  was  lost  in 
some  districts,  however,  was  to  some  extent  made 
up,  says  an  English  writer,  by  "  the  support  of 
that  very  broken  reed,  the  Irish  vote,  which  was 
destined  to  pierce  the  hand  of  so  many  a  confi- 
ding candidate  who  leaned  upon  it."  While  this 
debate  was  in  progress  a  bill  directed  against  the 
carrying  of  arms  in  Ireland  was  introduced  and 
pushed  forward  rapidly  through  both  Houses,  and 
became  a  law. 

Mr^  Gladstone  explained,  the  position  of  the 
Cabinet ^n  the  Home  Rule  and  Land  Bills  at  a 
ipieeting  of  Liberals  held  at  the  Foreign  Office, 
May  27th.  He  stated  that  the  Government  at 
present^only  asked  for  an  endorsement  of  the 
leading  principles  of  the  two  measures;  and 
in  closing  the  debate  afterwards  on  the  second 


504  William  E.  Gladstone 

reading  of  the  Home  Rule  Bill,  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  he  made  an  eloquent  appeal  for  Ire- 
land. But  all  parties  were  preparing  for  the  con- 
flict, and  members  of  opposite  parties  were 
consolidating  themselves  for  opposition.  ^'  The 
Whigs,  under  Lord  Hartington,  coalesced  with 
the  Radicals,  under  Mr.  Chamberlain,  and  both 
together  made  a  working  alliance  with  the  Tories. 
This  alliance  was  admirably  organized  in  London 
and  in  the  constituencies.'* 

It  seems  that  the  Premier  was  deceived  by 
his  official  counsellors  of  the  Liberal  party  as  to 
the  real  condition  of  affairs  respecting  Home 
Rule  and  the  prospects  for  the  passage  of  his 
bills,  He  did  not  dream  of  defeat,  but  if  by 
some  mischance  they  would  suffer  defeat,  then 
he  could  appeal  to  the  country  with  the  certainty 
of  being  sustained  by  the  popular  vote.  This 
was  what  Mr.  Gladstone  hoped,  and  what  he 
thought  he  had  the  assurance  of.  But  hopes  of 
success  began  to  give  way  to  fears  of  defeat  as 
the  time  drew  near  to  take  the  vote.  However, 
some  still  hopeful  prophesied  a  small  majority 
against  the  bill — only  ten  votes  at  the  most.  The 
Cabinet  desperately  resolved  not  to  resign  if 
beaten  by  so  small  a  majority,  but  would  have 
some  adherent  move  a  vote  of  confidence.  This 
they  argued  would  be  favored  by  some  opposed 
to  Home  Rule,  and  the  question  be  deferred  to 
another   session,  leaving  the   Liberals  still   in 


Third  Administration  and  Home  Rule      505 

office.  But  these  liopes  were  doomed  to  be 
blasted.  Early  in  tbe  morning  of  June  8tli  the 
momentous  division  took  place,  and  it  was  found 
that  the  Government,  instead  of  getting  a  ma- 
jority, was  defeated  by  thirty  votes.  It  was  found 
that  ninety-three  Liberals  had  voted  with  the 
majority. 

The  Premier  at  once  advised  the  Queen  to 
dissolve  Parliament,  and  though  Her  Majesty  at 
first  demurred  at  the  trouble  of  another  election 
within  seven  months  of  the  last,  and  begged  Mr. 
Gladstone  to  reconsider  his  counsel,  yet  he  argued 
that  a  general  election  would  cause  less  trouble 
than  a  year  of  embittered  and  fanatical  agitation 
against  Home  Rule.  Besides,  as  he  said  to  a  col- 
league, "If  we  did  not  dissolve  we  would  be 
showing  the  white  feather."  Mr.  Gladstone 
finally  had  his  way,  the  Queen  yielded  and  Par- 
liament was  dissolved  June  26, 1886.  June  14th 
Mr.  Gladstone  issued  an  address  to  the  electors 
of  Midlothian,  and  later  paid  a  visit  to  Edin- 
burgh and  Glasgow,  where  he  made  powerful 
addresses.  He  then  spoke  at  Manchester,  and, 
passing  on  to  Liverpool,  he  advocated  the  cause 
of  Ireland,  calling  upon  the  people  to  "ring  out 
the  old,  ring  in  the  new,"  and  to  make  Ireland 
not  an  enemy  but  a  friend. 

The  result  of  this  appeal  to  the  country  was 
the  return  of  a  decided  majority  of  over  a  hun- 
dred against  Home  Rule,  and  thus,  after  a  short 


5o6  William  E.  Gladstone 

term  of  five  montlis  in  ofiice,  the  third  adminis- 
tration of  Mr.  Gladstone  was  brought  to  a  close, 
and  he  became  again  the  leader  of  the  Opposi- 
tion. The  dissolution  and  appeal  to  the  country 
was  a  practical  blunder,  but  Mr.  Gladstone's  ad- 
dress to  the  people  was  skilfully  worded.  He 
freely  admitted  that  the  Irish  bills  were  dead, 
and  asked  the  constituencies  simply  to  sanction 
a  principle,  and  that,  too,  a  very  plain  and  reason- 
able one  in  itself.  He  invited  the  people  to  vote 
aye  or  no  to  this  question:  "  Whether  you  will 
or  will  not  have  regard  to  the  prayer  of  Ireland 
for  the  management  by  herself  of  the  affairs 
specifically  and  exclusively  her  own?"  The 
separation  of  the  bare  principle  of  self-govern- 
ment from  the  practical  difi&culties  presented  by 
the  bills  enabled  many  Liberals  who  were  op- 
posed to  the  measures  to  support  Mr.  Gladstone, 
but  the  majority  of  voters  failed  to  make  this 
distinction,  and  hence  came  defeat.  The  decision 
of  the  people  was  not  regarded  as  final. 

In  1887  the  Jubilee  of  the  Queen  was  cele- 
brated. Fifty  years  before  Queen  Victoria  had 
ascended  the  throne  of  England.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gladstone  celebrated  the  Queen's  Jubilee  by  giv- 
ing a  treat  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  estates  of 
Hawarden,  who  were  of  the  Queen's  age,  which 
was  sixty-eight  and  upwards.  The  treat  took  the 
shape  of  a  dinner  and  tea,  served  in  a  large  tent 
erected  in   front  of  the   castle,  and  the   guests 


Third  Administration  and  Home  Rule      507 

numbered  upwards  of  two  Hundred  and  fifty. 
The  principal  toast,  proposed  by  Mr.  Gladstone, 
was  the  Queen.  He  contrasted  the  jubilee  then 
being  celebrated  all  over  the  English-speaking 
world,  with  that  of  George  the  Third,  which  was 
"a  jubilee  of  the  great  folks,  a  jubilee  of  corpor- 
ations and  of  authorities,  a  jubilee  of  the  upper 
classes."  On  the  other  hand,  he  continued,  the 
Victorian  Jubilee  was  one  when  "  the  population 
are  better  fed,  better  clothed,  and  better  housed — 
and  by  a  great  deal — than  they  were  fifty  years 
ago,  and  the  great  mass  of  these  happy  and 
blessed  changes  is  associated  with  the  name  and 
action  of  the  Queen." 

In  the  year  of  the  Queen's  Jubilee,  1887, 
Mr.  Gladstone  addressed  many  gatherings,  and 
at  Swansea,  where  he  was  the  guest  of  Sir 
Hussey  Vivian,  he  spoke  to  a  vast  concourse  of 
people,  estimated  at  one  hundred  thousand. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Prime  Minister  the  Fourth  Time 

^^  4    HEN    Parliament   met   in   1887    Mr. 
fJLf       Gladstone  entered  upon   "  a  course 
^  ^       .  of  extraordinary  physical  and  intel- 
lectual  efforts,  with  voice  and  pen, 
in  Parliament  and  on  tlie  platform, 
on  behalf  of  the  cause,  defeated  but  not   aban- 
doned,  of  self-government   for   Ireland."     The 
Tory  administration  passed  a  Crimes  Prevention 
Bill  for  Ireland  of  great  severity.     Irish  mem- 
bers of  Parliament  were  thrown  into  prison,  but 
the  Act  failed  of  its  object — the  suppression  of 
the  Land  League. 

In  December,  1887,  Mr.  Gladstone  visited 
Italy  and  made  Naples  his  headquarters.  He 
was  received  with  joy  for  the  service  he  had 
rendered  to  the  Italian  people.  The  University 
of  Bologna,  in  celebrating  the  eighth  century  of 
its  existence,  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Arts. 

In  1888  the  House  of  Commons  appointed 
a   Commission   to   fry   the   "  Times "    charges 
508 


Prime  Minister  the  Fourth  Time  509 

against  Mr.  Parnell.  THe  charges  were  found 
to  be  false. 

Mr.  Gladstone  visited  Birmingham  in 
November,  1888.  After  paying  a  glowing 
tribute  to  John  Bright,  and  expressing  an 
earnest  desire  for  his  recovery  to  health,  he 
condemned  the  Coercion  Act.  Mr.  Gladstone 
received  many  handsome  presents  from  the 
workingmen,  and  Mrs.  Gladstone  received  from 
the  ladies  a  medallion  cameo  portrait  of  her 
husband.  A  great  demonstration  was  made  at 
Bingley  Hall,  in  which  were  gathered  over 
20,000  persons. 

A  number  of  Liberals,  who  had  deserted 
Mr.  Gladstone,  returned  upon  the  promise  of 
certain  imperial  guarantees  which  were  granted, 
among  them  Sir  George  Trevelyan.  Mr. 
Chamberlain,  who  had  asked  for  these  safe- 
guards, did  not  accept  them. 

July  25,  1889,  ^^-  ^^^  ^^s.  Gladstone  cele- 
brated their  "  Golden  Wedding."  Among  the 
many  to  offer  congratulations  were  the  Queen  by 
telegram,  and  the  Prince  of  Wales  by  letter.  A 
pleasant  surprise  met  them  at  home.  A  por- 
trait of  Mr.  Gladstone,  by  Sir  John  Millais,  was 
found  hanging  in  the  breakfast-room,  ^'  A  gift 
from  English,  Scottish,  Welsh  and  Irish 
Women." 

In  1890  trouble  came  to  the  Liberal  party 
through  the   scandal  connecting  thd  names  of 


510  William  E.  Gladstone 

Mr.  Parnell  and  Mrs  O'Shea.  Mr.  Gladstone 
announced  that  the  Irish  party  must  choose 
between  himself  and  Mr.  Parnell.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1890,  Mr.  Parnell  was  deposed  from  the 
chairmanship  of  the  United  Irish  National 
Party.  This  led  to  a  division.  Mr.  Justin 
McCarthy  was  elected  leader  by  the  Anti- 
Pamellites,  and  the  Parnellites  selected  Mr. 
John  Redmond. 

Parliament  would  soon  terminate  by  limita- 
tion, so  Mr.  Gladstone  devoted  himself  to  pre- 
paring the  people  for  the  coming  general  elec- 
tion. Besides,  in  February,  1891,  he  made  an 
address,  at  the  opening  of  St.  Martin's  Free 
Public  Library,  and  in  March  to  the  boys  at 
Eton  College  on  Homeric  Studies.  June  28, 
1892,  Parliament  came  to  an  end.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's journey  to  Edinburgh,  in  July,  was  all 
along  the  route  "  a  triumphal  progress."  He 
was  re-elected.  The  question  of  the  day  was 
Home  Rule,  and  wherever  the  people  had  the 
opportunity  of  declaring  themselves,  they  pro- 
nounced condemnation  upon  the  policy  of  Lord 
Salisbury's  administration,  and  in  favor  of 
Home  Rule  for  Ireland. 

The  new  Parliament  met,  and,  August  12, 
1892,  a  motion  was  made  of  ^'  No  Confidence  " 
in  the  Salisbury  government.  The  division  was 
the  largest  ever  taken  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, the  v6te  being  350  for  the  motion  and  310 


Prime  Minister  the  Fourth  Time  511 

against  it — a  majority  of  40  for  Mr.  Gladstone. 
The  scene  in  tHe  House  whicli  attended  tlie 
overthrow  of  the  Salisbury  government  was  less 
dramatic  than  that  which  accompanied  the  defeat 
of  the  Gladstone  ministry  in  1885,  but  it  was 
full  of  exciting  episodes.  The  House  was 
packed  to  the  doors.  The  excitement  was  in- 
tense, and  the  confusion  great.  When  the  fig- 
ures were  announced,  another  wild  scene  of  dis- 
order prevailed  and  there  was  prolonged  cheer- 
ing. "Ten  minutes  later  the  great  forum  was 
empty  and  the  excited  assembly  had  found  its 
way  to  the  quiet  outside  under  the  stars." 

Monday,  August  15,  1892,  Mr.  Gladstone 
repaired  to  Osborne  on  the  Royal  Yacht,  and 
became  for  the  fourth  time  Prime  Minister. 
Since  1868  he  had  been  the  undisputed  leader  of 
-his  party.  His  main  supporters  in  all  his 
reform  measures  were  the  Nonconformists, 
whose  claim  for  "  the  absolute  religious  equality 
of  all  denominations  before  the  law  of  the  land," 
must,  in  time,  it  was  thought,  bring  about  the 
disestablishment  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 

In  September,  1892,  Mr.  Gladstone  went  to 
Sir  E.  Watkin's  Chalet  on  Mount  Snowdon, 
Wales,  where  he  made  his  Boulder  Stone  speech. 
To  commemorate  his  visit  a  slab  of  gray  Aber- 
deen granite  was  "let  into  the  actual  brown 
rock,"  on  which  is  the  following  inscription  in 
Welsh  and  in  English:    "September  13,  1892. 


512  William  E.  Gladstone 

Upon  this  rock  the  Right  Honorable  W.  E. 
Gladstone,  M.  P.,  when  Prime  Minister  for  the 
fourth  time,  and  eighty-three  years  old, 
addressed  the  people  of  Eryi  upon  justice  to 
Wales.  The  multitiide  sang  Cymric  hymns 
and  '  The  Land  of  My  Fathers.'  " 

December  29, 1892,  Mr.  Gladstone  celebrated 
his  eighty-third  birthday.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Glad- 
stone were  at  Biarritz.  Congratulatory  tele- 
grams and  messages  were  received  in  great 
numbers,  besides  many  handsome  presents.  The 
event  was  celebrated  all  over  England.  The 
Midlothian  Liberals  sent  congratulations  upon 
the  return  of  the  Liberal  Party  to  power  under 
his  leadership,  and  the  completion  of  his  sixty 
years'  service  in  the  House.  Resolutions  were 
passed  deploring  the  wickedness  of  the  dynamite 
outrage  at  Dublin,  December  24,  and  yet  avow- 
ing the  justice  of  granting  to  Ireland  the  right 
to  manage  her  own  affairs. 

January  31,  1893,  Parliament  was  opened. 
In  the  House  of  Commons  there  was  a  brilliant 
gathering,  and  nearly  all  the  members  were 
present,  many  of  them  standing.  Just  before 
noon  the  Hon.  Arthur  Wellesley  Peel,  Speaker, 
took  his  seat,  and  Archdeacon  Farrar,  Chaplain, 
offered  prayer.  When  Mr.  Gladstone  entered 
from  behind  the  Speaker's  chair,  every  Liberal 
and  Irish  Nationalist  stood  up  and  greeted  him 
with   prolonged  and    enthusiastic   cheers:     and 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OK  ,/ 


Gladstone  on  the  Queen's  Yacht,  en  Route  to  Osborne 


Prime  Minister  the  Fourth  Time         5^5 

when  he  took  the  oath  as  Prime  Minister,  he 
received  another  ovation.  The  members  were 
then  summoned  to  the  House  of  Lords  to  hear 
the  Queen's  speech,  which  was  read  by  the  Lord 
High  Chancellor,  Baron  Herschall.  The  Prince 
of  Wales  and  his  son,  the  Duke  of  York,  occupied 
seats  on  the  ^'  cross  bench." 

February  13,  the  excitement  in  and  about 
the  Parliament  Houses  was  as  great  as  that 
which  prevailed  two  weeks  before.  Enthusiastic 
crowds  greeted  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gladstone.  When 
the  doors  of  the  House  of  Commons  were  opened, 
there  was  a  "  disorderly  rush  "  of  the  members 
into  the  House  to  obtain  seats,  "  the  members 
shouting  and  struggling,  several  being  thrown  to 
the  floor  in  the  excitement."  Peers,  Commons, 
and  visitors  filled  the  floor  and  galleries.  The 
Prince  of  Wales  and  other  members  of  the  royal 
family  were  present.  When  Mr.  Gladstone  arose 
he  was  greeted  with  applause.  Jle  reminded  the 
House  that  for  seven  years  the  voices  which  used 
to  plead  the  cause  of  Irish  government  in  Irish 
affairs  had  been  mute  within  the  walls  of  the 
House.  He  then  asked  permission  to  introduce 
a  "  Bill  to  Amend  the  Provision  for  the  Govern- 
ment of  Ireland,"  which  was  the  title  of  the  Home 
Rule  Bill.  Mr.  Balfour  led  the  opposition  to 
the  bill.  Mr.  Chamberlain  declared  that  the  bill 
would  not  accomplish  its  purpose,  whereupon  Mr. 
Justin  McCarthy,  for  the  anti-Pamellities,  replied 


5i6  William  E.  Gladstone        ^ 

that  tHe  Irish  would  accept  it  as  a  message  of 
everlasting  peace,  and  Mr.  John  Redmond,  for 
the  Parnellites,  answered  that  if  disturbances 
followed  in  Ireland  it  would  be  due  to  the  Con- 
servatives. 

I  The  Ulster  Unionists  opposed  the  bill.  The 
'  Scotch-Irish  Protestants  of  the  north  of  Ireland 
declared  that  they  preferred  to  stand  where  they 
did  in  1690,  when  they  defeated  James  II  and  his 
Catholic  followers,  in  the  battle  of  the  Boyne,  and 
fought  for  William  of  Orange  for  the  English 
throne  and  liberty  and  Protestantism.  Their 
opposition  to  Home  Rule  for  Ireland  grew  out  of 
their  hostility  to  Roman  Catholicism  and  the  fear 
j  of  its  supremacy. 

I  After  six  months  of  earnest  debate  in  the 

'  House  of  Commons,  the  Home  Rule  Bill  for 
j  Ireland  was  passed,  with  slight  amendments, 
\September  i,  1893,  ^Y  ^  "^^^e  of  301  to  267,  a 
majority  of  thirty-four,  The  struggle  was  per- 
haps the  most  heated  in  the  history  of  Parliament. 
/  The  bill  was  sent  to  the  House  of  Lords, 
where  it  was  defeated,  midnight,  September  8,  by 
the  surprising  majority  of  419  to  41,  after 
only  one  week's  discussion.  Members  that  never 
attended  were  drummed  up  to  vote  against  the 
bill.  The  usual  working  force  of  the  House  of 
Lords  is  from  thirty  to  forty  members.  The  vote 
was  the  largest  ever  taken  in  tbe  Lords. 


Prime  Minister  the  Fourth  Time  517 

At  once  the  cry,  "  Down  with  the  House  of 
Lords ! "  was  heard.  The  National  Liberal 
Federation  issued  a  circular,  in  which  were  the 
words  :  "  The  question  of  mending  or  ending  the 
House  of  Lords  *  *  displaces  for  awhile  all 
other  subjects  of  reform."  Mr.  Gladstone  was 
probably  aware  of  the  contents  of  this  manifesto 
before  it  was  issued,  and  the  sentiments  were  in 
accord  with  those  uttered  by  him  two  years  before 
at  New  Castle. 

September  27th,  Mr.  Gladstone  addressed 
his  constituents  at  Edinburgh.  He  was  received 
with  an  outburst  of  enthusiasm.  He  said  that 
the  People^s  Chamber  had  passed  the  bill.  li 
the  nation  was  determined  it  would  not  be  baffled 
by  the  Peers.  If  the  Commons  should  go  before 
the  country,  then  the  Lords  should  go  too,  and  if 
defeated,  should  do  what  the  Commons  would  do 
— clear  out. 

f  The  Queen  wanted  Mr.  Gladstone  to  appeal 

to  the  country,  and  there  was  an  opinion  among 
some  that  Mr.  Gladstone  would  be  defeated  at 
the  polls  upon  the  question ;  but  the  Premier 
intimated  to  the  Queen  his  intention  not  to 
appeal,  and  announced  the  readiness  of  the 
Cabinet  to  be  dismissed  by  the  Queen.  How- 
ever, the  Queen  would  hardly  expose  the  throne 
to  the  danger  threatening  the  Peers. 

December  29,  1893,  Mr.  Gladstone  attained 
the  eighty-fourth   year  of  his  age.     When  he 


5i3  William  e.  Gladstone 

entered  tlie  House  of  Commons  tliat  day  his 
political  associates  of  the  Liberal  party  all  rose 
an^  greeted  him  with  cheers.  When  the 
applause  had  subsided,  the  Conservatives  raised 
their  hats  and  their  leader,  Mr.  Balfour,  rose  and 
tendered  his  congratulations.  Mr.  Gladstone 
v^as  much  pleased  with  the  demonstrations  of  his 
friends,  as  well  as  with  the  graceful  compliments 
of  his  political  opponents.  Besides  about  two 
hundred  congratulatory  messages,  letters  and 
telegrams  were  received,  those  from  Queen 
Victoria,  and  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales, 
being  among  the  first. 

July  6,  1893,  Prince  George  of  Wales,  Duke 
of  York,  and  Princess  Mary  of  Teck  were 
married.  The  Prince  was  by  inheritance  heir, 
after  the  Prince  of  Wales,  to  the  throne  of  Eng- 
land. Mr.  Gladstone  attended  the  wedding, 
arrayed  in  the  blue  and  gold  uniform  of  a  brother 
of  the  Trinity  House,  with  naval  epaulettes,  and 
was  conducted  to  the  royal  pew  reserved  for  him. 

Among  the  great  measures  proposed  at  this 
time  by  Mr.  Gladstone  were  the  Employers' 
Liability,  and  the  Parish  Councils  Bills.  The 
latter  was  as  evolutionary  and  as  revolutionary 
as  the  Home  Rule  Bill.  Its  object  was  to  take 
the  control  of  10,000  rural  English  parishes  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  squire  and  the  parson  and 
put  it  into  the  hands  of  the  people.  With  its 
amendments     regarding      woman     suffrage,    to 


Prime  Minister  the  Fourth  Time  521 

which  Mr.  Gladstone  was  opposed,  it  gave  to 
every  man  and  woman  in  England  one  vote — 
and  only  one — in  local  affairs.  February  21, 
1894,  when  Mr.  Gladstone  had  returned  from 
Biarritz,  where  he  had  gone  for  his  health,  there 
was  again  a  notable  assemblage  in  the  House  of 
Commons  to  hear  him  speak.  It  was  expected 
that  he  would  make  a  bitter  attack  upon  the 
House  of  Lords,  which  had  attempted  to  defeat 
both  these  bills  by  amendments.  But  he  calmly 
spoke  of  the  lamentable  divergence  between  the 
two  branches  of  the  legislature  upon  the  Em- 
ployers^ Liability  Bill,  and  asked  that  the  amend- 
ment be  rejected,  which  was  done  by  a  majority 
of  225  to  6.  The  bill  was  therefore  withdrawn, 
and  the  responsibility  of  its  defeat  thrown  upon 
the  Lords.  The  House  also  rejected  all  the 
important  amendments  of  the  Parish  Councils 
Bill,  but  concurred  in  the  unimportant  changes 
made  by  the  Lords.  It  was  sent  back  then  to 
the  lords,  and  finally  passed  by  them.  But 
Mr.  Gladstone  greatly  disappointed  many  of  his 
political  friends  by  his  mild  manner  of  dealing 
with  the  House  of  Lords.  The  extreme  Radi- 
cals were  angered  and  condemned  severely  the 
Premier  for  what  they  called  his  "backing  down  " 
and  his  "  feeble  speech." 

Rumors  in  reference  to  Mr.  Gladstone's 
resignation,  which  had  been  started  by  the  Pall 
Mall  Gazette^  while  lie  was  yet  at  Biarritz,  werq 


522  William  E.  Gladstone 

now  renewed.  February  28,  1894,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone informed  the  Queen  of  his  contemplated 
retirement,  giving  as  reasons  his  failing  eye- 
sight, deafness  and  age.  March  ist,  he  made  an 
important  speech  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
He  displayed  so  much  vigor  and  earnestness  in 
his  speech  that  it  was  thought  that  he  had  given 
up  the  idea  of  retiring.  But  this  was  his  last 
speech  as  Premier.  March  2d,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gladstone  were  summoned  to  Windsor,  where 
they  dined  with  the  Queen,  and  remained  over 
night.  Saturday,  March  3,  1894,  Mr.  Gladstone 
tendered  his  resignation  as  Premier  to  the  Queen, 
who  accepted  it  with  many  expressions  of  favor 
and  regret,  and  offered  him  again  a  peerage, 
which  was  declined.  On  the  way  to  Windsor 
and  return  to  London,  Mr.  Gladstone  was  greeted 
by  a  large  and  enthusiastic  crowd.  Hundreds  of 
letters  and  telegrams  expressing  regret,  because 
of  his  retirement,  were  received  by  the  ex-Premier. 
On  Sunday  he  attended  church  *as  usual  and  was 
looking  well.  Mr.  Balfour  in  the  Commons,  and 
Lord  Salisbury  in  the  Lords,  vied  with  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's political  friends  in  speaking  his  praise, 
and  referring  in  the  highest  terms  to  his  char- 
acter and  labors.  The  press  in  all  parts  of  the 
world  spoke  in  glowing  terms  of  his  natural 
endowments,  great  attainments,  invaluable  ser- 
vices^ pure  character  and  wonderfully  vigorous 


QUKEN    AND    PRKMIER — TllK   T.AST    AUDIENCE 


Prime  Minister  the  Fourth  Time  525 

old  age.  It  was  quite  evident  that  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's retirement  was  not  enforced  by  mental  or 
physical  infirmities,  or  by  his  unfitness  for  the 
leadership  of  the  House  and  the  Premiership,  but 
that  as  a  wise  precaution,  and  upon  the  solicita- 
tion of  his  family,  he  had  laid  down  his  power 
while  he  was  yet  able  to  wield  it  with  astonishing 
vigor.  Thus  closed  the  fourth  administration  of 
this  remarkable  man,  the  greatest  English  states- 
man of  his  time.  In  all  history  there  is  no 
parallel  case,  and  no  official  record  such  as  his. 
Lord  Rosebery  was  appointed  Premier  in 
the  place  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  Sir  William  V. 
Harcourt  became  the  leader  of  the  Liberal  party 
in  the  House  of  Commons.  Mr.  Gladstone  wrote 
congratulating  Lord  Rosebery,  and  promised  to 
aid  him  whenever  his  assistance  was  required. 
In  assuming  office  Lord  Rosebery  eulogized 
Mr.  Gladstone,  and  announced  that  there  would 
be  no  change  in  the  policy  of  reform  of  the 
Liberal  party  under  the  new  administration,  and 
declared  for  Home  Rule  for  Ireland,  the  disestab- 
lishment of  the  church  in  Wales  and  Scotland, 
and  the  reform  of  the  House  of  Lords. 


CHAPTER  XX. 
IN  Private  Life. 

/lUSTlN  McCarthy,  in  the  closing  pages 

(j       of  his  Story  of  Gladstone's  Life,  says  : 

^^r      "The  long  political  struggle  was  over 

rM         and  done.     The  heat  of  the  opposition 

this  way  and  that  had  gone  out  forever, 

and  Mr.  Gladstone  had  none  left  but  friends  on 

both  sides  of  the  political  field.     Probably  that 

ceremonial,  that  installation    of    the   Prince   of 

Wales  as  Chancellor  of   the  Welsh  University, 

was  the  last  occasion  on  which  Mr.  Gladstone 

would  consent  to  make  an  appearance  on  a  public 

platform.      It   was  a  graceful   close   to   such   a 

great  career." 

The  occasion  referred  to  was  the  ceremonial 
at  Aberystwith,  Wales,  June  26,  1896,  when  the 
Prince  of  Wales  was  installed  as  Chancellor  of 
the  Welsh  University,  and  when  the  Prince  pre- 
sented to  the  Princess  of  Wales  and  to  Mr.  Glad- 
stone honorary  degrees  conferred  upon  them  by 
the  University.  The  appearance  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone was  the  signal  for  great  applause.  The 
Prince  in  his  remarks  was  very  complimentary 

526 


In  Private  life.  527 

to  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  spoke  of  the  honor  paid 
the  University  by  the  presence  of  the  aged  schol- 
ar and  statesman,  and  also  said  it  was  truly  one 
of  the  proudest  moments  of  his  life,  when  he 
found  himself  in  the  flattering  position  of  being 
able  to  confer  an  academic  honor  upon  one  fur- 
nishing the  rare  instance  of  occupying  the  high- 
est position  as  a  statesman  and  who  at  the  same 
time  had  attained  such  distinction  in  scholarship. 

But  Mr.  McCarthy  was  mistaken  about  this 
being  the  closing  public  service  in  the  life  of 
Mr.  Gladstone.  It  was  very  far  from  his  last 
public  appearance.  After  that  event  Mr.  Glad- 
stone appeared  repeatedly.  Though  his  official 
life  had  closed,  yet  he  was  to  emerge  from  retire- 
ment many  times,  and  especially  when  it  became 
necessary  for  him  to  raise  his  strong  voice  for 
humanity.  His  advocacy  of  the  great  causes  of 
Armenian  rescue,  of  Grecian  independence,  of 
Arbitration  instead  of  War,  and  the  unity  and 
harmony  of  the  two  great  English-speaking  peo- 
ple, was  given  with  all  the  old  time  fire  of  youth. 
What  Mr.  Gladstone  did  and  said  with  pen  and 
voice  since  the  occasion  mentioned,  was  enough 
not  only  for  another  chapter,  but  a  whole  volume, 
and  sufficient  alone  to  immortalize  any  man. 

After  the  great  struggle  for  Home  Rule  and 
during  the  sultry  summer  of  1893,  Mr.  Gladstone 
repaired  to  his  favorite  winter  resort,  Biarritz,  in 
the  south  of  France.     It  was  while  he  was  there 


528  WILLIAM   E.  GLADSTONE 

that  rumors  of  his  resignation  were  heard,  based 
on  the  ground  of  his  failing  health.  Dr.  Grang- 
er, of  Chester,  who  was  also  an  oculist,  was  sum- 
moned to  examine  Mr.  Gladstone's  eyes.  He 
told  Mr.  Gladstone  that  a  cataract  had  obliterated 
the  sight  of  one  eye,  and  that  another  cataract 
had  begun  to  form  on  the  other.  In  other  words 
Mr.  Gladstone  was  threatened  with  total  blind- 
ness. The  Prime  Minister  reflected  a  moment, 
and  then  requested — almost  ordered — the  physi- 
cian to  operate  immediately  upon  his  eye.  He 
said :  "I  wish  you  to  remove  the  cataract  at 
once.''  The  physician  replied  that  it  was  not  far 
enough  advanced  for  an  operation.  ^'You  do  not 
understand  me,"  answered  the  patient,  "it  is  the 
old  cataract  I  wish  removed.  If  that  is  out  of 
the  way,  I  shall  still  have  one  good  eye,  when 
the  new  cataract  impairs  the  sight  of  the  other." 
As  the  physician  still  hesitated,  Mr.  Gladstone 
continued  :  "You  still  seem  not  to  understand 
me.  I  want  you  to  perform  the  operation  here 
and  now  while  I  am  sitting  in  this  chair."  "But 
it  might  not  be  successful,"  said  Dr.  Granger. 
"That  is  a  risk  I  accept,"  was  the  instant  reply. 
However,  the  physician  dared  not  then  undertake 
it,  and  afterwards  said  that  Mr.  Gladstone's  eyes 
were  as  good  as  they  were  a  year  before,  and 
that  his  general  health  was  also  good. 

In  May,  1894,  Mr.  Gladstone's  eye  was  suc- 
cessfully operated  upon  for  cataract.  He  took  no 


or  ru -"  y^ 

.vP  Of  / 


In  private  life.  531 

anaesthetic,  and  was  conscious  during  the  time. 
Every  precaution  was  taken  to  insure  success, 
and  the  patient  was  put  to  bed  for  rest  and  quiet 
and  kept  on  low  diet.  Mr.  Gladstone's  eyes  were 
so  improved  by  judicious  treatment  that  before 
long  he  could  read  ten  or  twelve  hours  a  day. 
This  could  be  regarded  as  complete  restoration 
of  sight,  and  enabled  him,  upon  his  retirement 
from  public  life,  to  devote  himself  to  the  work 
he  so  well  loved  when  at  home  in  his  study  at 
Hawarden. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  retirement  from  public  life, 
from  the  Premiership,  the  Cabinet,  the  leadership 
of  the  Liberal  Party,  and  from  Parliament  did 
not  mean  his  entrance  upon  a  period  of  inactivity. 
In  the  shades  of  Hawarden  and  in  the  quiet  of  his 
study  he  kept  up  the  industry  that  had  charact- 
erized his  whole  life  heretofore. 

It  had  been  the  custom  for  centuries  for 
English  statesmen,  upon  retiring  from  official 
life,  to  devote  themselves  to  the  classics.  Mr. 
Gladstone,  who  was  pre-eminently  a  statesman- 
scholar,  found  it  very  congenial  to  his  mind 
and  habits  to  follow  this  old  English  cus- 
tom. He  first  translated  and  published  '^The 
Odes  of  Horace."  Then  he  took  Butler's  "Anal- 
ogy" as  a  text  book,  and  prepared  and  published 
"Studies  Subsidiary  to  the  Works  of  Bishop 
Butler."  The  discussion  necessarily  takes  a 
wide   range,   treating,  among  other  matters,   of 


532  WILLIAM  E.   GLADSTONE 

Butler's  method,  its  application  to  the  Scriptures, 
the  future  life,  miracles  and  the  mediation  of 
Christ.  Says  W.  T.  Stead :  ''No  one  who  reads  the 
strenuous  arguments  with  which  Mr.  Gladstone 
summarizes  the  reasoning  of  Bishop  Butler  on 
the  future  life  is  conscious  of  any  weakening  in 
the  vigorous  dialectic  which  was  so  often  employ- 
ed with  brilliant  success  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons." 

One  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  latest  productions 
was  his  ''Personal  Recollections  of  Arthur  H. 
Hallam,"  which  was  written  for  the  "Youth's 
Companion."  It  is  a  tribute  to  the  memory  and 
worth  of  one  of  his  early  friends  at  Eton. 

These  and  other  literary  works  occupied  most 
of  his  time.  But  Mr.  Gladstone  would  not  con- 
tent himself  with  quiet  literary  work.  He  had 
too  long  and  too  intensely  been  active  in  the 
world's  great  movements  and  on  humanity's 
behalf  to  stand  aloof.  Hence  it  was  not  long  be- 
fore he  was  again  in  the  arena,  doing  valiant  ser- 
vice for  the  Armenian  and  against  the  Turk. 

In  1892  the  Sultan,  in  the  execution  of  a 
plan  devised  in  1890,  issued  an  edict  against  re- 
ligious freedom.  In  1894,  he  threw  off  the  mask 
and  began  to  execute  his  deliberate  and  precon- 
certed plan  to  force  all  Christian  Armenians  to 
become  Mohammedans  or  to  die.  Robbery,  out- 
rage and  murder  were  the  means  used  by  the 
hands  of  brutal  soldiers. 


IN  PRIVATE  LIFE.  533 

In  a  letter  to  an  indignation  meeting  held 
in  London,  December  i7tli,  1894,  Mr.  Gladstone 
wrote  denouncing  these  outrages  of  the  Turks. 
The  reading  of  the  letter  was  greeted  with  pro- 
longed applause. 

A  deputation  of  Armenian  gentlemen,  resid- 
ing in  London  and  in  Paris,  took  occasion  on  Mr. 
Gladstone's  85th  birthday,  December  29th,  1894, 
to  present  a  silver  chalice  to  Hawarden  Church 
as  **a  memorial  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  sympathy 
with  and  assistance  to  the  Armenian  people." 
Mr.  Gladstone's  address  to  the  deputation  was 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  peculiar  and  char- 
acteristic acts  of  his  life.  He  gave  himself 
wholly  to  the  cause  of  these  oppressed  people, 
and  was  stirred  by  the  outrages  and  murders 
perpetrated  upon  them  as  he  was  18  years  before. 
He  said  that  the  Turks  should  go  out  as  they 
did  go  out  of  Bulgaria  "  bag  and  baggage,"  and 
he  denounced  the  government  of  the  Sultan  as 
^^a  disgrace  to  Mahomet,  the  prophet  whom  it 
professed  to  follow,  a  disgrace  to  civilization  at 
large,  and  a  curse  to  mankind."  He  contended 
that  every  nation  had  ever  the  right  and  the 
authority  to  act  "  on  behalf  of  humanity  and  of 
justice." 

There  were  those  who  condemned  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's speech,  declaring  that  it  might  disrupt 
the  peace  of  Europe,  but  there  were  many  others 
who  thought  that  the  sooner  peace  secured  at 


534  WILLIAM  E.  GLADSTONE 

such  a  cost  was  disturbed  the  better.  It  was  but 
natural  for  those  who  wrongfully  claimed  the 
sovereign  right  to  oppress  their  own  subjects,  to 
denounce  all  interference  in  the  affairs  of  the 
Sultan. 

It  was  reported,  March  19, 1895,  ^^^^  Francis 
Seymour  Stevenson,  M.  P.,  Chairman  of  the 
Anglo-Armenian  Association,  on  behalf  of  the 
Tiflis  Armenians,  would  present  to  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, on  his  return  to  London,  the  ancient  copy 
of  the  Armenian  Gospels,  inscribed  upon  vellum, 
which  was  to  accompany  the  address  to  the  ex-Pre- 
mier, then  being  signed  by  the  Armenians  there. 
In  a  letter  Mr.  Gladstone  had  but  recently  declared 
that  he  had  abandoned  all  hope  that  the  condition 
of  affairs  in  Armenia  would  change  for  the  better. 
The  Sultan,  he  declared,  was  no  longer  worthy 
of  the  courtesies  of  diplomatic  usage,  or  of  Christ- 
ian tolerance.  Mr.  Gladstone  promised  that  when 
these  Gospels  were  formally  presented  to  him 
he  would  deliver  a  "rattling"  address  on  behalf 
of  the  Armenians.  When  a  delegation  waited  on 
him,  he  said,  after  assuring  them  of  his  sympa- 
thy, that  the  danger  in  the  Armenian  situation 
now  was  that  useful  action  might  be  abandoned, 
in  view  of  the  promises  of  the  Turkish  Govern- 
ment to  institute  reforms. 

In  June  1895,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gladstone  at- 
tended the  opening  of  the  Kaiser  Wilhelm  Canal 
as  guests  of  Sir  Donald  Currie,  on  his  steamship 


In  Private  life.  535 

Tantallon  Castle,  returning  home  on  tHe  the 
twenty-fifth.  During  this  trip  an  effort  was 
made  to  arrange  for  an  interview  between  the 
Ex-Premier  and  the  Prince  Bismarck,  but  the 
Prince  seemed  disinclined  and  the  project  failed. 

It  was  while  Mr.  Gladstone  was  at  Kiel,  that 
the  Rosebery  Ministry  fell  by  an  accidental  de- 
feat of  the  Liberal  Party  in  Parliament,  and 
which  again  brought  Mr.  Gladstone  to  the  front 
in  the  public  mind.  Lord  Rosebery  telegraphed 
Mr.  Gladstone  full  particulars  of  the  situation, 
and  Mr.  Gladstone  strongly  advised  against  the 
resignation  of  the  Government  and  urged  that  a 
vote  of  confidence  be  taken.  Mr.  Gladstone  wrote 
that  the  Liberal  Party  could  well  afford  to  stand 
on  its  record.  The  Ministry  with  but  two  ex- 
ceptions, was  the  same,  as  that  formed  by  Mr. 
Gladstone  in  August  1892,  and  had  his  confi- 
dence. 

Nevertheless,  the  cabinet  of  Lord  Rosebery 
resigned,  and  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury  again  be- 
came Prime  Minister, — on  the  very  day  of  Mr. 
Gladstone's  arrival  home.  However  Lord  Rose- 
bery retained  the  leadership  of  the  Liberal 
Party. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  if  the  wishes  of  the 
Liberal  Party  had  been  gratified,  Mr.  Gladstone 
would  have  taken  the  leadership  and  again  be- 
come Prime  Minister.  Subsequent  events  proved 
that  he   would  have  been   equal,  at  least  for  a 


536  WILLIAM  E.  GLADSTONE 

while,  to  the  task  of  succeeding  Lord  Rosebery. 
But  Mr.  Gladstone  was  not  willing.  He  refused 
to  re-enter  Parliament,  and  wrote  a  letter  to  his 
old  constituents  at  Midlothian,  declining  their 
kind  offer  to  send  him  to  the  House  and  bade  them 
a  kind  farewell.  In  his  letter  he  said  that  the  Lib- 
eral Party  is  a  party  of  progress  and  reform,  and 
urged  his  constituents  to  stand  by  it.  He  re- 
garded the  changes  of  the  century  exceedingly 
beneficial. 

August  6,  1895,  Mr.  Gladstone  made  a 
great  speech  at  Chester.  A  meeting  was  held  in 
the  Town  Hall  to  arouse  public  sentiment 
against  the  slaughter  of  Armenian  Christains 
within  the  Empire  of  the  Sultan  by  Turkish  sol- 
diers, and  to  devise  some  means  of  putting  an 
end  to  such  crimes,  and  of  punishing  the  oppres- 
sor. The  audience  was  very  large,  including 
many  Armenians  resident  in  England,  and  rose 
with  vociferous  cheering  when  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gladstone,  the  Duke  of  Westminster,  the  Bishop 
of  Chester,  and  the  Mayor  of  Chester  entered  the 
hall.  The  Bishop  of  Ripon  was  already  there. 
The  Duke  of  Westminster  presided,  and  read  a 
letter  from  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  the  Premier. 

Mr.  Gladstone  arose  amid  an  outburst  of 
enthusiastic  applause,  and  addressing  the  vast 
audience  said : 

That  the  massacres  in  Armenia  resulted 
from  intolerable  government — perhaps  the  worst 


In  Private  life.  537 

in  the  world.  He  offered  a  resolution  pledging 
the  support  of  the  entire  nation  to  the  British 
Government  in  its  efforts  to  secure  for  the  Ar- 
menians such  reforms  as  would  guarantee  the 
safety  of  life,  honor,  religion  and  property.  Mr. 
Gladstone  said  that  language  failed  to  describe 
the  horrors  of  the  massacre  of  Sussoun,  which 
made  the  blood  run  cold.  The  Sultan  was  re- 
sponsible, for  these  barbarities  were  not  the  act 
of  the  criminal  class,  such  as  afflicts  every 
country,  the  malefactors  who  usually  perpetrate 
horrible  crime,  but  were  perpetrated  by  the 
agents  of  the  Sultan — the  soldiers  and  the 
Kurds,  tax-gatherers  and  police  of  the  Turkish 
Government.  And  what  had  been  done,  and 
was  daily  being  done,  could  be  summed  up  in 
four  awful  words — plunder,  murder,  rape  and 
torture.  Plunder  and  murder  were  bad  enough, 
but  these  were  almost  venial  by  the  side  of  the 
work  of  the  ravisher  and  the  torturer.  And  the 
victims  were  defenceless  men,  women  and  child- 
ren— Armenians,  one  of  the  oldest  Christian  civ- 
ilized races,  and  one  of  the  most  pacific,  indus- 
trious and  intelligent  races  of  the  world. 

There  was  no  exaggeration  in  the  language 
used  to  describe  the  horrible  outrages  visited 
upon  whole  communities  of  innocent  and  help- 
less people.  The  truth  of  these  terrible  charges 
in  their  most  hideous  form,  was  established  by 
unbiased  American  testimony,  by  Dr,  Dillon,  an 


538  WiLLiAM   E.  GLADSTONE 

eye  witness,  and  by  the  representatives  of  Eng- 
land, France  and  Russia. 

Nothing  but  a  sense  of  duty,  said  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, had  brought  him  at  his  age  to  resign  the 
repose,  which  was  the  last  of  many  great  earthly 
blessings  remaining  to  him,  to  address  them. 

If  the  Powers  of  Europe  were  to  recede  be- 
fore the  irrational  resistance  of  the  Sultan,  they 
would  be  disgraced  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  and 
the  Christian  population  of  the  Turkish  Empire 
would  be  doomed  to  extermination,  according  to 
the  plan  of  the  Porte.  Terrible  word,  but  true 
in  its  application. 

As  to  the  remedy  the  cleanest  was  to  make 
the  Turk  march  out  of  Armenia,  as  he  did  out 
of  Bulgaria,  '^  bag  and  baggage."  He  cautioned 
against  trusting  the  promises  of  the  government 
at  Constantinople,  which  he  knew  from  long  ex- 
perience, were  worthless ;  and  declared  that  the 
Sultan  was  bound  by  no  treaty  obligation.  The 
word  "  ought"  was  not  heeded  at  Constantinople, 
but  the  word  "  must"  was  understood  fully  there. 
Coercion  was  a  word  perfectly  comprehended 
there — a  drastic  dose  which  never  failed.  If  we 
have  the  smallest  regard  for  humanity,  he  con- 
cluded, we  shall,  with  the  help  of  God,  demand 
that  which  is  just  and  necessary.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone was  frequently  and  loudly  applauded  dur- 
ing his  speech,  at  the  conclusion  of  which  the 
resolution  was  adopted. 


IN  PRIVATE  LIFE.  539 

The  most  powerful  voice  in  all  Britain  had 
been  raised  with  stirring  and  thrilling  power  for 
justice  and  humanity.  The  testimony  of  an  eye 
witness  is  to  the  effect,  that  never  did  the 
grand  old  man  seem  in  finer  form.  His  un- 
dimmed  eye  flashed  as  he  spoke  with  withering 
scorn  against  hypocrisy  and  with  hottest  hate 
against  wrong.  His  natural  force  was  not  abated, 
his  health  robust,  and  his  conviction  unsubdued. 
His  deeply  lined  and  pale  face  was  transfigured 
with  the  glow  of  righteous  indignation.  The 
aged  statesman  was  in  his  old  House  of  Com- 
mons vigor.  "  There  was  the  same  facile  move- 
ment of  his  body,  and  the  same  penetrating  look 
as  though  he  would  pierce  the  very  soul  of  his 
auditors  ;  the  same  triumphant  march  of  sentence 
after  sentence  to  their  chosen  goal,  and  yet  the 
same  subtle  method  of  introducing  qualifying 
clauses  all  along  the  march  without  loosing  the 
grip  of  his  theme  ;  the  same  ascent  to  lofty  prin- 
ciples and  commanding  generalizations,  blended 
with  the  complete  mastery  of  details ;  and, 
above  all,  the  same  sublimity  of  outlook  and 
ringing  emphasis  of  sincerity  in  every  tone." 
It  was  an  occasion  never  to  be  forgotten.  A  dis- 
tinguished hearer  said :  "  To  read  his  speech, 
as  thousands  will,  is  much ;  but  to  have  heard 
it,  to  have  felt  it-oh!  that  is  simply  indescribable, 
and  will  mark  for  many,  one  of  the  most  memor- 
able days  of  this  last  decade  of  this  closing  century. 


540  William  e.  Gladstone 

The  sweet  cadence  of  His  voice,  the  fascination  of 
his  personality,  and,  above  all,  the  consecration 
of  his  splendid  gifts  to  the  cause  of  plundered 
men  and  ravished  women,  raise  the  occasion  into 
prominence  in  the  annals  of  a  great  people. 
Chiefly,  I  feel  the  triumphs  of  soul.  His  utter- 
ance of  the  words  *wives,'  ^women,'  lifted  them 
into  an  atmosphere  of  awe  and  solemnity,  and 
his  tone  in  speaking  of  ^rape'  and  'torture'  gave 
them  an  ineffable  loathsomeness.  It  seemed  as 
if  so  much  soul  had  never  been  put  into  a 
Saxon  speech.  Keen  satire,  rasping  rebuke,  an 
avalanche  of  indignation,  rapier-like  thrusts  to 
the  vital  fibre  of  the  situation,  and  withal  the 
invincible  cogency  of  argument  against  the 
Turkish  Government,  gave  the  oration  a  primary 
place  amongst  the  master-pieces  of  human  elo- 
quence." 

In  the  course  of  this  famous  speech  Mr. 
Gladstone  referred  to  America ;  once  when  wel- 
coming the  sympathy  of  the  American  people 
with  the  suffering  Armenians,  and  again  as  he 
described  the  testimony  of  the  United  States  as 
a  witness  that  gained  enormously  in  value  be- 
cause it  was  entirely  free  from  suspicion. 

A  large  meeting  was  held  in  St.  James  Hall, 
London,  October  19,  1896,  in  memory  of  Christ- 
ian Martyrs  in  Turkey.  The  Bishop  of  Roches- 
ter presided.  The  hall  was  packed  with  an  audi- 
ence of  :^j6oo,  while  nearly  7,000  applied  for 


In  Private  Life.  541 

admission.  Many  prominent  persons  were  pre- 
sent. The  large  audience  was  in  sombre  funeral 
attire.  About  thirty  front  seats  were  occupied 
by  Armenians.  It  was  stated  that  60,000  Armen- 
ians so  far  had  been  murdered  with  tortures  and 
indignities  indescribable.  To  this  meeting  Mr. 
Gladstone  addressed  a  letter  which  was  greeted 
with  the  wildest  enthusiasm.  He  said  that  he 
hoped  the  meeting  would  worthily  crown  the 
Armenian  meetings  of  the  past  two  months, 
which  were  without  a  parallel  during  his  politi- 
cal life.  The  great  object,  he  said,  was  to 
strengthen  Lord  Salisbury's  hands  and  to  stop 
the  series  of  massacres,  which  were  probably 
still  unfinished,  and  to  provide  against  their  re- 
newal. As  he  believed  that  Lord  Salisbury  would 
use  his  powerful  position  for  the  best,  personally 
he  objected  in  the  strongest  manner  to  abridging 
Lord  Salisbury's  discretion  by  laying  down  this 
or  that  as  things  which  he  ought  not  to  do.  It 
was  a  wild  paradox,  without  the  support  of  rea- 
son or  history,  to  say  that  the  enforcement  of 
treaty  rights  to  stop  systematic  massacre,  to- 
gether with  effective  security  against  Great  Bri- 
tain's abusing  them  for  selfish  ends,  would  pro- 
voke the  hostilities  of  one  or  more  of  the  powers. 
To  advertise  beforehand  in  the  ears  of  the 
Great  Assassin  that  Great  Britain's  action  would 
cut  down — what  the  most  backward  of  the  six 
Powers    think  to  be  sufficient— would    be  the 


542  WILLIAM  E.  Gladstone. 

abandonment  of  duty  and  prudence  and  would 
be  to  doom  tbe  national  movement  to  disappoint- 
ment. Tbe  concert  of  Europe  was  valuable  and 
important,  but  sucb  an  announcement  would  be 
certain  to  be  followed  by  its  failure. 

One  of  the  immediate  effects  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's denunciation  of  the  Sultan  for  the  Ar- 
menian massacres  was  the  resignation  by  Lord 
Rosebery  of  the  leadership  of  the  Liberal  Party. 
Mr.  Gladstone's  return  to  politics,  the  agitation 
of  the  Turkish  question  and  the  differences  be- 
tween these  two  leaders  of  the  Liberal  movement 
as  to  the  best  way  of  dealing  with  the  Sultan, 
were  assigned  as  reasons  by  Lord  Rosebery  for 
his  resignation. 

It  was  then  again  suggested  that  Mr.  Glad- 
stone assume  the  leadership  of  the  Liberal  Party 
and  accept  a  peerage  and  a  seat  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  so  often  tendered  him  by  the  Queen. 
Then  Sir  William  Vernon-Harcourt  could  lead 
in  the  House  of  Commons  and  bear  the  burden, 
while  Mr.  Gladstone  could  be  at  the  head  of  af- 
fairs without  the  worry  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. Besides,  Mr.  Morgan  offered  to  resign 
his  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  his  favor. 
But  Mr.  Gladstone  would  not  agree  to  any  of 
these  plans  as  far  as  they  pertained  to  himself. 

July  22,  1896,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gladstone  re- 
turned to  London  to  attend  a  great  social  func- 
tion, the  marriage  of  one  of  the  daughters  of 


In  Private  life.  543 

the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  to  Prince 
CHaries  of  Denmark.  Mr.  Gladstone  evinced 
much  interest  in  everything  connected  with  the 
important  event,  and  was  himself  the  object  of 
much  attention. 

September  23,  1896,  Mr.  Gladstone  wrote  a 
long  letter  to  the  Paris  Figaro  in  response  to  an 
appeal  from  its  editor,  M.  Leudet,  to  Mr.  Glad- 
stone to  arouse  the  French  press  in  behalf  of  the 
Armenians.  After  expressing  his  diffidence  in 
complying  with  the  request,  Mr.  Gladstone  de- 
clared his  belief  that  the  population  of  Great 
Britain  were  more  united  in  sentiment  and  more 
thoroughly  aroused  by  the  present  outrages  in 
Turkey  than  they  were  by  the  atrocities  in  Bul- 
garia in  1876. 

He  said :  "  The  question  whether  efiFect  can 
be  given  to  the  national  indignation  is  now  in 
the  balance,  and  will  probably  soon  be  decided. 
I  have  read  in  some  Austrian  newspapers  an  af- 
fected scruple  against  sole  action  by  any  one 
State  in  a  European  crisis,  but  there  are  two 
first-class  Powers  who  will  not  make  that  scruple 
their  own.  One  of  these  is  Russia,  who  in  1878, 
earned  lasting  honors  by  liberating  Bulgaria  and 
helping  onward  the  freedom  and  security  of  other 
Balkan  States.  The  other  Power  is  France,  who, 
in  1840,  took  up  the  cause  of  Egypt  and  pushed 
it  single  handed  to  the  verge  of  a  European  war. 
She  wisely  forbore  to  bring  about  that  horrible, 


544  WILLIAM  E.  GLADSTONE. 

transcendent  calamity,  but  I  gravely  doubt 
whether  she  was  not  right  and  the  combined 
Powers  wrong  in  their  policy  of  that  period/* 

Mr.  Gladstone  denounced  the  Sultan  as  the 
"  Great  Assassin,"  and  continued :  "  For  more 
than  a  year  he  has  triumphed  over  the  diplomacy 
of  the  six  Powers,  they  have  been  laid  prostrate 
at  his  feet.  There  is  no  parallel  in  history  to 
the  humiliation  they  have  patiently  borne.  He 
has  therefore  had  every  encouragement  to  con- 
tinue a  course  that  has  been  crowned  with  such 
success.  The  impending  question  seems  to  be, 
not  whether,  but  when  and  where  he  will  pro- 
ceed to  his  next  murderous  exploits.  The  ques- 
tion for  Europe  and  each  Power  is  whether  he 
shall  be  permitted  to  swell  by  more  myriads  the 
tremendous  total  of  his  victims. 

"  In  other  years  when  I  possessed  power  I 
did  my  best  to  promote  the  concert  of  Europe, 
but  I  sorrowfully  admit  that  all  the  good  done 
in  Turkey  during  the  last  twenty  years  was 
done,  not  by  it,  but  more  nearly  despite  it."  The 
letter  concludes  by  expressing  the  hope  that  the 
French  people  would  pursue  a  policy  worthy  of 
their  greatness,  their  fame  and  the  high  place 
they  have  held  in  European  Christian  history. 

September  24,  1896,  a  meeting  was  called 
by  the  Reform  Club,  of  Liverpool,  to  protest 
against  the  recent  massacres  of  2000  Armenians 
at  Constantinople  at  the  affair  of  the  Ottoman 


In  private  life.  545 

Bank,  and  many  more  throughout  the  Turkish 
Empire.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  asked  to  address 
the  meeting.  When  requested  by  the  agent  of 
the  Associated  Press  for  an  advanced  proof  of  his 
speech  he  declined,  but  wrote  that  he  would 
^'  recommend  giving  the  warmest  support  to  the 
Queen^s  government,  and  would  contend  that 
England  should  act  alone  if  necessary  for  the 
fulfillment  of  the  covenants  which  have  been  so 
disgracefully  broken." 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gladstone,  with  their  son 
Herbert,  arrived  at  noon  at  Liverpool,  and  were 
met  at  the  railroad  station  by  2,000  enthusiastic 
people.  The  meeting  was  held  in  the  vast  audi- 
torium of  the  Circus  Building,  which  was  filled. 
Thousands  failed  to  obtain  entrance. 

Before  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Gladstone  there 
was  a  spontaneous  outburst  of  applause,  every- 
body present  standing  and  singing  "  God  save 
the  Queen."  When  Mr.  Gladstone  entered,  the 
prolonged  roar  of  applause  could  be  heard  for 
miles,  arising  from  thousands  inside  and  outside 
the  hall. 

The  Earl  of  Derby,  Conservative,  presided. 
He  was  accompanied  by  the  Countess  of  Derby, 
who  with  many  distinguished  persons  occupied 
the  platform. 

Mr.  Gladstone  stepped  briskly  to  the  front 
of  the  platform  at  12.30  p.  m.  bowing  repeat- 
edly in  response  to  the  applause.      He  looked 


546  WILLIAM  E.  GLADSTONE 

Strong  and  well  for  a  man  of  liis  age  and  labois, 
and  was  easily  heard.  After  a  few  prelim- 
inary remarks,  lie  moved  the  following  reso- 
lution : 

"  That  this  meeting  trusts  that  Her  Majes- 
ty's ministers,  realizing  to  the  fullest  extent  the 
terrible  condition  in  which  their  fellow  Christians 
are  placed,  will  do  everything  possible  to  obtain 
for  them  full  security  and  protection ;  and  this 
meeting  assures  Her  Majesty's  ministers  that 
they  may  rely  upon  the  cordial  support  of  the 
citizens  of  Liverpool  in  whatever  steps  they  may 
feel  it  necessary  to  take  for  that  purpose." 

The  resolution  was  received  with  great 
cheering. 

Mr.  Gladstone  resumed :  "  We  have  a  just 
title  to  threaten  Turkey  with  coercion,  but  that 
does  not  in  itself  mean  war ;  and  I  think  that 
the  first  step  should  be  the  recall  of  our  Ambas- 
sador, and  it  should  be  followed  by  the  dismissal 
of  the  Turkish  Ambassador  from  London.  Such 
a  course  is  frequent  and  would  not  give  the 
right  of  complaint  to  anybody.  When  diplo- 
matic relations  are  suspended,  England  should 
inform  the  Sultan  that  she  should  consider  the 
means  of  enforcing  her  just  and  humane  de- 
mands. I  do  not  believe  that  Europe  will  make 
war  to  insure  the  continuance  of  massacres  more 
terrible  than  ever  recorded  in  the  dismal,  deplor- 
able history  of  crime. 


In  private  life.  547 

"  Now,  as  in  1876,  to  the  guilt  of  massacre  is 
added  the  impudence  of  denial,  which  will  con- 
tinue just  as  long  as  Europe  is  content  to  listen. 
I  doubt  if  it  is  an  exaggeration  to  say  that  it  was 
in  the  Sultan's  palace,  and  there  only,  that  the 
inspiration  has  been  supplied,  and  the  policy 
devised  of  the  whole  series  of  massacres.  When 
the  Sultan  carries  massacre  into  his  own  capital 
under  the  eyes  of  the  Ambassadors,  he  appears 
to  have  gained  the  very  acme  of  what  it  is  possi- 
ble for  him  to  do.  But  the  weakness  of  diplom- 
acy, I  trust,  is  about  to  be  strengthened  by  the 
echo  of  this  nation's  voice." 

Mr.  Gladstone  then  referred  to  the  supine- 
ness  of  the  Ambassadors  of  the  Powers  at  Con- 
stantinople, and  continued :  "  The  concert  of 
Europe  is  an  august  and  useful  instrument,  but 
it  has  not  usually  succeeded  in  dealing  with  the 
Eastern  question,  which  has  arrived  at  a  period 
when  it  is  necessary  to  strengthen  the  hands  of 
the  Government  by  an  expression  of  national 
opinion.  I  believe  that  the  continued  presence 
of  the  Ambassadors  at  Constantinople  has  oper- 
ated as  a  distinct  countenance  to  the  Sultan, 
who  is  thus  their  recognized  ally. 

"  But,  while  urging  the  Government  to  act, 
it  does  not  follow  that,  even  for  the  sake  of  the 
great  object  in  view.  Great  Britain  should  trans- 
plant Europe  into  a  state  of  war.  On  the  other 
hand,    however,   I    deny    that    England    must 


548  WILLIAM  E.  GLADSTONE. 

abandon  her  own  right  to  independent  judgment 
and  allow  herself  to  be  domineered  over  by  the 
other  powers." 

Mr.  Gladstone  expressed  the  opinion  that 
the  purpose  of  the  meeting  was  defensive  and 
prospective,  saying  that  no  one  can  hold  out  the 
hope  that  the  massacres  are  ended,  although  he 
ventured  to  anticipate  that  the  words  spoken  at 
the  meeting  would  find  their  way  to  the  palace  at 
Constantinople.  ''  The  present  movement,"  he 
said,  "is  based  on  broad  grounds  of  humanity,  and 
is  not  directed  against  the  Mohammedans,  but 
against  the  Turkish  officials,  evidence  of  whose 
barbarities  rests  in  credible  official  reports."  Mr. 
Gladstone  declared  his  adhesion  to  the  principles 
contained  in  the  resolution,  and  said  he  came  to 
the  meeting  not  claiming  any  authority  for  sen- 
timents expressed  except  that  of  a  citizen  of 
Liverpool. 

"  But,"  he  remarked,  "  the  national  platform 
upon  which  the  meeting  is  based  gives  greater 
authority  for  sentiments  universally  entertained 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land, 
and  I  urge  that  in  this  matter  party  sympathy 
be  renounced.  I  entertain  the  lively  hope  and 
strong  belief  that  the  present  deplorable  situation 
is  not  due  to  the  act  or  default  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  this  great  country." 

Mr.  Gladstone  spoke  about  twenty  minutes 
and  was  repeatedly  interrupted  by  applause.    He 


In  private  life.  549 

was  in  good  voice,  and  did  not  seem  fatigued 
when  lie  liad  finished. 

The  next  day  the  Turkish  Embassy  at 
London  telegraphed  Mr.  Gladstone's  speech  at 
Liverpool  verbatim  to  the  Sultan. 

The  London  Times  in  an  editorial  said: 
^^The  spectacle  of  the  veteran  statesman  quitting 
his  retirement  to  plead  the  cause  of  the  oppressed 
is  well  calculated  to  move  the  sympathy  and 
admiration  of  the  nation.  The  ardor  of  Mr. 
Gladstone's  feelings  on  this  subject  is  notorious. 
All  the  more  striking  and  significant  is  the 
comparative  restraint  and  moderation  of  the 
speech.' 

Other  questions  besides  those  mentioned 
were  claiming  the  attention  of  English  states- 
men. In  the  Spring,  prior  to  the  great  Liverpool 
meeting,  the  Venezuela  boundary  question  was 
agitating  the  two  great  English  speaking  nations 
to  the  very  verge  of  war.  A  large  Peace  Meet- 
ing was  held  in  London,  March  3,  1896,  to  favor 
arbitration.  Mr.  Gladstone  wrote :  '^  I  am  glad 
that  the  discussion  of  arbitration  is  to  be  separa- 
ted from  the  Venezuela  question,  upon  which  I 
do  not  feel  myself  in  final  and  full  possession  of 
the  facts  that  I  should  wish.  My  views  on  arbi- 
tration in  place  of  war  were  gathered  from  the 
part  I  took  in  the  matter  of  the  Alabama  claims. 
I  will  only  add  that  my  conviction  and  senti- 
ment on  the  subject  grow  in  strength  from  year 


550  WILLIAM   E.   GLADSTONE 

to  year  in  proportion  to  tHe  growth  of  tHat  mon- 
strous and  barbarous  militarism,  in  regard  to 
wbicli  I  consider  England  has  to  bear  no  small 
responsibility.'^ 

The  meeting  favored  permanent  interna- 
tional arbitration,  and  an  Anglo-American  treaty 
was  finally  signed  by  the  representatives  of  the 
two  nations,  providing  for  the  settlement  of  all 
questions  between  the  two  nations  by  arbitration 
instead  of  by  war,  but  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  refused  to  ratify  the  treaty. 

Mr.  Gladstone  deplored  intensely  the  extra- 
ordinary misunderstanding  which  had  prevailed 
on  the  subject  of  the  Venezuela  frontier.  He 
seemed  to  think  that  nothing  but  a  little  com- 
mon sense  was  needed  to  secure  the  pacific  settle- 
ment of  the  question  at  any  moment.  A  hun- 
dred square  miles  more  or  less  on  either  side  of 
the  boundary  of  British  Guiana  was  to  him  a 
matter  of  supreme  indifference.  He  was  ex- 
tremely anxious  to  see  justice  done,  and  one  of 
his  last  speeches  in  the  House  of  Commons  was 
in  favor  of  permanent  arbitration  between  Eng- 
land and  the  United  States. 

Another  one  of  the  absorbing  questions 
that  came  before  the  civilized  world  for  consider- 
ation, and  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Armen- 
ian question,  was  the  Cretan  Question.  Greece 
heroically  sustained  the  insurrection  of  the 
Cretans  against  the  Turkish  rule.     The  scene  of 


In  Private  life.  551 

Turkish  cruelty  was  now  transferred  to  the  isle 
of  Crete.  For  the  time  the  Armenian  massa- 
cres were  forgotten.  The  Greeks  rushed  to  the 
rescue,  while  all  Europe  held  aloof.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone sent  the  following  dispatch  to  the  Chron- 
icle :  ^^I  do  not  dare  to  stimulate  Greece  when  I 
cannot  help  her,  but  I  shall  profoundly  rejoice  at 
her  success.  I  hope  the  Powers  will  recollect 
that  they  have  their  own  character  to  redeem." 
This  was  in  February,  1897.  Later  he  wrote 
that  to  expel  the  Greek  troops  from  Crete  and 
keep  as  police  the  butchers  of  Armenia,  would 
further  deepen  the  disgrace  of  the  Powers  of 
Europe. 

In  March,  1897,  Mr.  Gladstone  addressed  a 
letter,  now  justly  celebrated,  on  the  same  sub- 
ject to  the  Duke  of  Westminster  in  which  he 
expressed  his  opinion  more  fully,  and  which  was 
evidently  the  sentiment  of  the  English  speaking 
people  of  the  world.  The  letter  was  in  the  form 
of  a  pamphlet  of  16  pages,  published,  and  enti- 
tled The  Eastern  Crisis. 

In  less  than  a  week  after  this  eloquent  man- 
ifesto in  behalf  of  the  Cretans  and  of  Greece  was 
put  forth,  it  was  currently  reported  that  the  pre- 
cise solution  of  the  problem  recommended  by 
Mr.  Gladstone  was  likely  to  be  adopted.  The 
Sultan  himself,  fearful  of  the  effect  of  the  ap- 
peal on  public  opinion  in  Europe,  sought  the 
settlement  of  the  question  in  the  manner  sug- 


552  William  e.  Gladstone. 

gested.  The  Greeks  still  clamored  for  war.  In 
tHe  war  that  followed  between  Greece  and  Turkey, 
Greece  was  defeated  and  crushed  by  the  Turk. 
Only  by  the  intervention  of  the  Powers  was 
Greece  saved  from  becoming  a  part  of  the  Sul- 
tan's Empire. 

After  peace  had  been  concluded  between 
Turkey  and  Greece,  Mr.  Gladstone  undertook  to 
arouse  public  opinion  by  a  trenchant  review  of 
the  situation.  Looking  back  over  the  past  two 
years  of  England's  Eastern  policy,  he  inquires 
as  to  what  have  been  the  results,  and  then  an- 
swers his  own  question.     He  thus  enumerates  : 

1.  The  slaughter  of  100,000  Armenian 
Christians,  men,  women  and  children,  with  no 
guarantee  against  a  repetition  of  the  crime. 

2.  The  Turkish  Empire  stronger  than  at 
any  time  since  the  Crimean  war. 

3.  Christian  Greece  weaker  than  at  any 
time  since  she  became  a  kingdom. 

These  are  facts,  Mr.  Gladstone  claimed,  for 
which  the  leading  Christian  nations  and  states- 
men of  Europe  are  responsible. 

While  Mr.  Gladstone  thus  expresses  him- 
self, yet  his  vigorous  protests  had  not  been  with- 
out effect.  His  voice  penetrated  into  the  very 
palace  of  the  Sultan,  and  into  every  Cabinet  of 
Europe,  and  was  heard  by  every  statesman  and 
ruler  throughout  the  world,  and  aroused  the 
people  everywhere.     It  was  a  mighty  voice  lifted 


In  Private  Life.  553 

for  right  and  against  oppression.  The  Sultan 
was  afraid  and  was  compelled  to  desist ;  not  that 
he  feared  the  protests  and  the  warnings  of  the 
Christian  Nations  of  Europe,  but  because  that 
one  voice  was  the  expression  of  the  popular  feel- 
ing of  all  Christians  throughout  the  world,  and 
to  defy  such  sentiment  would  be  to  court  the 
overthrow  of  his  throne,  if  not  of  the  dominion 
of  the  Turk  in  Europe. 

In  June,  1894,  an  invitation  was  extended  to 
Mr.  Gladstone  to  visit  the  United  States,  signed 
by  many  representative  men  in  public  life.  But 
Mr.  Gladstone,  while  acknowledging  the  com- 
pliment, declined  because  of  his  age.  It  would, 
he  thought,  be  a  tremendous  undertaking  for 
him.  The  fatigue  of  the  voyage  aud  the  strain 
of  the  receptions  while  in  America,  would  prove 
greater  than  his  physical  condition  could  bear. 

Later  Mr.  Gladstone  was  waited  on  at  Haw- 
arden  by  one  hundred  members  of  the  Philadel- 
phia Manufacturer's  Club.  He  personally  es- 
corted them  over  the  Castle  grounds  and  narra- 
ted the  history  of  the  Castle  to  them.  Greatly 
pleased  with  the  warmth  of  their  reception,  they 
thanked  Mr.  Gladstone  for  his  courtesy.  They 
then  gave  him  three  cheers.  This  token  of  ap- 
preciation was  very  gratifying  to  Mr.  Gladstone, 
who  said  that  it  was  the  first  time  he  had  ever 
heard  American  cheers. 


554  WILLIAM  E.  GLADSTONE 

Saturday  afternoon,  August  15,  1896,  Li 
Hung  Chang,  the  great  Chinese  Statesman  and 
Embassador,  visited  Mr.  Gladstone  at  Hawarden. 
Probably  the  three  greatest  living  statesmen  of 
the  time  were  Gladstone,  Bismarck  and  Li  Hung 
Chang.  The  Embassador  and  his  suite  went  to 
Chester  in  a  special  train,  and  were  driven  in 
three  open  carriages  to  Hawarden.  Along  the 
route  as,  well  as  at  the  station,  the  party  was 
cheered  by  a  large  crowd.  The  Viceroy  was 
sleeping  when  the  train  reached  Chester  and  he 
was  allowed  to  sleep  until  he  awoke.  Yet  the 
party  was  ahead  of  time  in  reaching  the  Castle, 
but  Mr.  Gladstone  hastened  to  receive  them.  The 
Chinese  visitors  were  received  at  the  door  by  Mr. 
Henry  Gladstone.  Li  Hung  Chang  was  escorted 
into  the  Library  where  he  was  introduced  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Gladstone. 

The  intention  of  Mr.  Gladstone  was  to  have 
as  escort  a  guard  of  honor  to  the  Viceroy,  the 
Hawarden  corps  of  the  Welsh  Fusiliers,  which 
reached  the  Castle,  owing  to  the  visitors  being 
ahead  of  time,  ten  minutes  after  the  arrival  of 
the  party. 

The  two  aged  statesmen  sat  near  the  win- 
dow overlooking  the  terrace,  and  at  once,  with  the 
aid  of  Lo  Feng  Lull,  engaged  in  conversation, 
Li  asked  various  questions  concerning  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's career,  and  was  informed  by  Mr.  Glad- 
Stone  that  he  had  been  Prime   Minister  nearly 


In  Private  Life. 


555 


thirteen  years,  and  in  the  Cabinet  nearly  twenty- 
four  years.  When  complimented  upon  the  service 
he  had  rendered  to  his  country,  Mr.  Gladstone 
replied  that  he  had  done  what  he  could,  but  he 
should  have  done  a  great  deal  more.  Li  observed 
that  British  interests  and  British  trade  in  China 
were  greater  than  those  of  all  other  countries  put 
together.  The  Viceroy  also  talked  with  Mr. 
Gladstone  of  free  trade,  of  restrictions  upon  com- 
merce, of  the  power  of  the  British  Navy,  of  the 
greatness  of  the  British  Revenues,  of  the  vast- 
ness  of  the  Colonial  Empire,  of  the  necessity 
of  a  railway  system  to  commerce  and  upon  a 
number  of  similar  subjects.  Refreshments  were 
served  which  Li  enjoyed,  and  then  by  request  he 
wrote  his  autograph  in  three  books,  using  Doro- 
thy Drew's  colors  for  the  purpose.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone and  Li  were  photographed  together  sitting 
on  chairs  outside  the  porch.  Mr.  Gladstone 
presented  Li  with  three  books  from  his  library, 
and  then  the  Chinese  visitors  departed. 

On  Saturday  evening  October  lo,  1896,  the 
Right  Hon.  and  Most  Rev.  Edward  White  Ben- 
son, D.  D.,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  Pri- 
mate of  all  England,  arrived  at  Hawarden  with 
Mrs,  Benson  on  a  visit  to  his  old  friend  Mr. 
Gladstone.  Sunday  morning  Dr.  Benson  went 
with  the  Gladstone  family  to  Hawarden  Church 
and  occupied  the  Gladstone  pew.  After  the 
service  had  commenced  a   commotion    was    ob- 


556  William  E.  Gladstone 

seived.  It  was  caused  by  the  fall  of  Dr.  Benson 
in  the  pew  wHile  kneeling  in  prayer.  Attendants 
removed  Dr.  Benson  to  the  Rectory,  and  medical 
aid  was  summoned,  but  death  came  soon  after 
from  apoplexy.  The  Rev.  Stephen  Gladstone, 
rector,  proceeded  with  the  service  until  notified 
of  the  death  of  the  Archbishop,  when  he  dis- 
missed the  congregation.  Mr.  Gladstone,  who 
had  not  attended  church  from  indisposition,  was 
deeply  affected  by  the  death  of  his  guest  and 
friend. 

The  morning  papers  of  London,  June  i, 
1896,  printed  a  long  letter  from  Mr.  Gladstone 
to  Cardinal  Rampolla  for  submission  to  the  Pope 
Leo  XIII,  in  favor  of  the  unity  of  Christendom 
by  means  of  a  papal  declaration  in  favor  of  the 
validity  of  Anglican  orders.  It  created  a  great 
sensation.  Shortly  after  this  the  Pope  issued  an 
Encyclical  letter  addressed  to  "  all  bishops  in 
communion  with  the  Holy  See."  The  theme 
was  the  same  as  that  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  letter, 
to  which  it  was  regarded  as  an  answer.  The  Pope 
invited  all  the  English  people  "to  return  to  the 
religion  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church."  ''This," 
remarks  Mr.  Justin  McCarthy,  "was  exactly 
what  any  thoughful  person  might  have  expected." 
While  this  letter  and  its  answer  did  not  satisfy 
the  clergy  of  the  established  Churcl;  of  England 
who  were  favorably  disposed  towards  Rome,  on 
the  other  hand  it  aroused  the  dissenting  Christ- 


In  Private  Life.  1:57 

ians  of  England  to  reply  that  they  were  opposed 
to  all  state  or  established  churches,  whether  Ro- 
man Catholic  or  English  Episcopal. 

On  December  29,  1896,  the  eighty-seventh 
anniversary  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  birth  was  cele- 
brated at  Hawarden,  surrounded  by  his  family 
and  friends.  There  were  the  usual  demon- 
strations by  the  villagers,  consisting  in  the  ring- 
ing of  bells  and  the  appointments  of  deputations 
to  wait  upon  the  aged  statesman  at  the  Castle 
with  congratulations.  An  enormous  flow  of  tele- 
grams and  messages  continued  throughout  the 
day  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  the  United 
States  and  the  Continent.  Among  those  send- 
ing congratulations  were  the  Prince  and  Princess 
of  Wales,  and  Baroness  de  Rothschild.  Mr, 
Gladstone  was  in  good  health,  and  in  the  after- 
noon went  out  for  a  walk. 

May  10,  1897,  the  Prince  and  Princess  of 
Wales,  accompanied  by  the  Princess  Victoria, 
visited  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gladstone  at  Hawarden. 
They  were  received  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gladstone 
in  the  porch  erected  in  1889  to  commemorate 
their  golden  wedding.  The  mutual  greetings 
were  of  the  heartiest  nature.  The  royal  party 
inspected  the  ruins  of  the  old  castle,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone acting  as  escort  to  the  Princess  of  Wales. 
An  interesting  incident  occurred  on  the  lawn. 
The  Princess  took  great  interest  in  inspecting 
the    favorite    dogs   of    the    Gladstone     family. 


558  WILLIAM  E.  Gladstone 

These  were  the  black  Pomeranians.  Two  pup- 
pies were  carried  in  a  basket,  one  of  which  the 
Princess  accepted  as  a  gift. 

June  22,  1897,  was  celebrated  with  great 
pomp  and  rejoicing  the  Diamond  Jubilee  of 
Victoria,  the  Queen  of  England  and  Empress  of 
India,  when  the  Queen  reached  the  60th  anni- 
versary of  her  reign,  which  is  the  longest  in 
English  history.  Victoria  became  queen  at  the 
age  of  19  years,  in  1837,  and  then  the  British 
Isles  possessed  a  population  of  26,000,000  and 
they  had  became  40,000,000.  Her  Empire  has 
been  extended  until  in  India,  South,  Central  and 
Western  Africa,  Australia,  New  Zealand  and 
North  America,  and  including  the  British  Isles, 
there  were  360,000,000  people  who  owned  her 
sway.  And  to  this  greatness  and  glory  Mr. 
Gladstone  had  been  one  to  contribute  largely, 
while  his  influence  has  been  felt  more  still  by 
far  in  promoting  the  moral  greatness  of  the 
people.  Throughout  all  the  Empire  the  event 
was  celebrated,  and  the  jubilee  procession  in 
London  was  swollen  by  representatives  of  all 
parts  of  the  Queen^s  domain  and  all  nations  on 
earth  which  rendered  it  the  greatest  pageant 
ever  beheld.  Even  the  Turk  was  there,  but  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  not  there,  nor  was  his  name  even 
mentioned  for  a  place  in  the  march  on  jubilee  day. 
Yet  the  period  of  Victorians  reign  will  often  be 
spoken  of  in  history  as  the  Gladstonian  Era. 


In  Private  Life.  559 

"The  public  life  of  a  leading  statesman," 
says  an  eminent  writer,  "  offers  the  boldest  and 
stateliest  outline  to  the  public  view.  It  may  be 
that  the  most  striking  and  memorable  chapters 
in  a  future  biography  of  Mr.  Gladstone  will  con- 
tain the  story  of  his  private  affairs  and  domestic 
life."  His  daily  life  at  home  was  a  model  of 
simplicity  and  regularity,  and  the  great  secret 
of  the  vast  amount  of  work  he  accomplished  was 
owing  to  the  fact  that  every  odd  five  minutes 
were  occupied.  He  had  a  deep  sense  of  the 
preciousness  of  time  and  the  responsibility  which 
everyone  incurs  who  uses  or  misuses  it.  "  To 
such  a  length  did  he  carry  this  that  at  a  picnic 
to  a  favorite  Welsh  mountain  he  has  been  seen 
to  fling  himself  on  the  heather  and  bury  himself 
in  some  pamphlet  upon  a  question  of  the  day, 
until  called  to  lighter  things  by  those  who  were 
responsible  for  the  provision  basket." 

Mr.  Gladstone  was  ever  a  most  severe  econ- 
omist of  time,  a  habit  acquired  as  long  ago  as  1839, 
when  he  awed  his  young  wife  by  filling  up  all 
odd  bits  and  scraps  of  time  with  study  or  work. 
Out  of  his  pocket  would  come  the  little  classic  at 
every  chance  opportunity  of  leisure.  This  ac- 
counts for  his  ability  to  get  through  in  one  day 
more  than  most  people  do  in  a  week.  Then  be- 
sides, he  had  the  faculty  of  concentrating  the 
whole  power  of  his  mind  upon  the  one  thing  be- 
fore  him,   whether   small   or  great.       He  was 


56o  WILLIAM  E.  GLADSTONE 

unable  to  divide  the  macliinery  of  his  mind. 
Interruption  was  almost  fatal  to  his  train  of 
thought,  but  he  was  generally  oblivious  to  con- 
versation buzzing  around  him.  Hence  it  was 
some  time  before  a  questioner  could  get  an  an- 
swer— he  did  not  seem  to  hear,  but  patience 
finally  secured  attention,  after  the  train  of  absorb- 
ing thought  was  finished. 

It  was  this  power  of  concentrating  all  his 
faculties  upon  what  he  was  doing,  whether  it  was 
work  or  play,  that  made  Mr.  Gladstone  one  of 
the  ablest  as  well  as  happiest  of  the  century.  He 
took  the  keenest  delight  in  the  scholarly  and 
beautiful,  and  this  accounts  for  his  disregard  of 
minor  ills  and  evils.  He  was  too  absorbed  to  be 
fretful  or  impatient.  But  to  be  absorbed  in 
great  things  did  not  mean,  in  his  case,  to  be 
neglectful  of  little  things.  At  one  time  his  mind 
and  time  were  so  completely  taken  up  with  the 
Eastern  question,  that  he  could  not  be  induced 
to  spare  a  thought  for  Ireland,  and  afterward  it 
was  quite  as  difficult  to  get  him  to  think  of  any 
political  question  except  that  of  Ireland. 

In  the  daily  routine  of  private  life  none  in 
the  household  were  more  punctual  and  regular 
than  Mr.  Gladstone.  At  8  o'clock  he  was 
up  and  in  his  study.  From  1842  he  always 
found  time,  with  all  his  manifold  duties,  to  go  to 
church  regularly,  rain  or  shine,  every  morning 
except   when    ill,    at    half-past    8  o'clock.      He 


In  private  life.  561 

walked  along  the  public  road  from  the  castle  to 
Hawarden  church.  Writes  an  observer :  ^'The 
old  statesman,  with  his  fine,  hale,  gentle  face,  is 
an  interesting  figure  as  he  walks  lightly  and 
briskly  along  the  country  road,  silently  acknowl- 
edging the  fervent  salutations  of  his  friends — the 
Hawarden  villagers.  He  wears  a  long  coat,  well 
buttoned  up,  a  long  shawl  wrapped  closely 
around  his  neck,  and  a  soft  felt  hat — a  very  dif- 
ferent figure  from  that  of  the  Prime  Minister  as 
he  is  known  in  London." 

At  the  Castle  prayers  were  read  to  the  fam- 
ily and  household  soon  after  9  o'clock  daily. 
His  customary  breakfast  was  comprised  of  a  hard- 
boiled  Qggy  2L  slice  of  tongue,  dry  toast  and  tea. 
The  whole  morning  whether  at  home  or  on  a 
visit  was  devoted  to  business.  Luncheon  at  Ha- 
warden was  without  formality.  ^%unch  was  on 
the  hob,"  for  several  hours,  to  be  partaken  of 
when  it  suited  the  convenience  of  the  various  mem- 
bers of  the  family.  Tea,  of  which  Mr.  Glad- 
stone was  particularly  fond,  and  of  which  he 
could  partake  at  any  hour  of  the  day,  or  night, 
was  served  in  the  afternoon  at  5  o'clock, — after 
which  he  finished  his  correspondence. 

In  the  afternoon,  Mr.  Gladstone  was  accus- 
tomed to  a  walk  in  the  grounds,  accompanied  by 
his  faithful  little  black  Pomeranian  dog,  Petz,  who 
was  obtained  on  a  trip  abroad,  and  became  and 
remained  for  many  years,  an  important  member  of 


562  WILLIAM  E.  GLADSTONE. 

the  household,  and  one  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  most 
devoted  followers.  Increasing  years  of  over  four- 
score, prevented  finally  walks  of  fifty  miles  a  day 
once  indulged  in,  and  the  axes  stood  unused  in 
their  stands  in  the  vestibule  and  library,  but  still 
Mr.  Gladstone  kept  up  his  walks  with  his  silent 
companion  Petz.  After  walking  for  half  an  hour 
longer  in  his  library  after  his  return  to  the  Cas- 
tle, Mr.  Gladstone  would  dress  for  dinner,  which 
operation  usually  took  him  from  three  to  five 
minutes.  At  8  o'clock  he  joined  the  family,  at 
dinner,  which  was  a  cheerful  meal.  Like  Goethe 
he  ate  heartily  and  enjoyed  his  meals,  but  his 
diet  was  extremely  simple,  Mr.  Gladstone  eating 
only  what  was  prescribed  by  his  physician.  At 
dinner  he  talked  freely  and  brilliantly  even  when 
none  but  his  family  were  present.  When  visit- 
ors were  present  he  would  enter  upon  whatever 
was  the  subject  of  conversation,  taking  his 
share  with  others,  and  pouring  a  flood  of  light 
upon  any  theme  suggested,  giving  all  the  bene- 
fit of  the  fund  of  wisdom  and  anecdote  collected 
through  two  generations  of  unparalleled  politi- 
cal and  social  activity. 

After  dinner,  when  there  were  no  visitors 
at  Hawarden,  Mr.  Gladstone  would  quietly  sit 
reading  in  his  library,  or  conversing  with  his 
family.  He  never  used  tobacco.  Shortly  after 
lo'clock  he  retired  to  bed  and  to  sleep.  He 
never  allowed  himself  to  think  and  be  sleepless. 


Me.  and  Mes.  Gladstone,  1897. 


LIS 

Of- 


In  private  life.  565 

Mr.  Bright  had  a  habit  of  making  his  speeches 
after  he  had  retired  to  bed,  which  Mr.  Gladstone 
thought  was  detrimental  to  his  health.  Eight 
hours  was  the  time  Mr.  Gladstone  permitted 
himself  to  sleep.  His  bed-room  was  on  the 
second  floor  and  reached  by  a  fine  staircase. 
Everything  in  the  room  was  plain  and  homely. 

On  the  walls  of  his  bed-room  and  over  the 
mantlepiece  was  a  text  emblazoned,  on  which  at 
evening  and  morning  he  could  look,  which  read : 
"Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace,  whose 
mind  is  stayed  on  thee."  This  not  only  ex- 
presses Mr.  Gladstone's  trust  in  God,  but 
doubtless  accounts  in  a  large  degree  for  that 
tranquility  of  mind  so  notably  his,  even  in  those 
trying  times  that  prostrated  many  and  carried 
many  more  away  from  their  bearings. 

From  the  worry  or  weariness  of  busmess, 
Mr.  Gladstone  was  ever  ready  to  turn  for  rest 
to  reading,  which  has  thus  proved  of  inestima- 
ble value  to  him.  "  His  family  cannot  speak 
without  emotion  of  that  look  of  perfect  happi- 
ness and  peace  that  beamed  from  his  eye  on 
such  occasions."  When  during  the  general 
elections  of  1882,  this  was  denied  him,  he  turned 
with  equal  readiness  to  writing  and  thinking 
on  other  subjects.  During  the  Midlothian  Cam- 
paign and  General  Election,  and  through  the 
Cabinet  making  that  followed,  he  relieved  the 
pressure  on  his  over-burden^d  brain  by  writing 


566  WILLIAM  E.  GLADSTONE. 

an  article  on  Home  Rule,  ^'written  with  all  the 
force  and  freshness  of  a  first  shock  of  discovery;'^ 
he  was  also  writing  daily  on  the  Psalms  ;  he 
was  preparing  a  paper  for  the  Oriental  Con- 
gress which  was  to  startle  the  educated  world  by 
"  its  originality  and  ingenuity ;"  and  he  was  com- 
posing with  great  and  careful  investigation  his 
Oxford  lecture  on  ^^  The  rise  and  progress  of 
learning  in  the  University  of  Oxford.'' 

All  during  the  morning  hours  he  would  sit 
in  the  silence  of  that  corner-room  on  the  ground 
floor  reading.  There  were  three  writing-desks 
in  the  library,  and  one  was  chiefly  reserved  for 
correspondence  of  a  political  nature,  and  another 
for  his  literary  work,  while  the  third  was  used 
by  Mrs.  Gladstone.  He  spent  his  evenings 
when  at  Hawarden  in  a  cosy  corner  of  the  library 
reading.  He  had  a  wonderfully  constructed  lamp 
so  arranged  for  him  for  night  reading,  as  to 
throw  the  utmost  possible  light  on  the  pages  of 
the  book.  It  was  generally  a  novel  that  em- 
ployed his  mind  at  night.  Occasionally  he  gives 
Mrs.  Drew  about  two  hundred  novels  to  divide 
the  sheep  from  the  goats  among  them.  She 
divides  them  into  three  classes — novels  worth 
keeping,  novels  to  be  given  away,  and  novels  to 
be  destroyed. 

Mr.  Gladstone  generally  had  three  books  in 
course  of  reading  at  the  same  time,  changing 
from  one  to  the  other.     These  books  were  care- 


In  private  life.  567 

fully  selected  with  reference  to  their  character 
and  contents,  and  he  was  particular  as  to  their 
order  and  variation.  For  instance  at  one  time 
he  was  reading  Dr.  Laugen's  Roman  History,  in 
German,  in  the  morning,  Virgil  in  the  afternoon, 
and  a  novel  at  night.  Scott  was  his  preference 
among  novelists.  He  read  with  pencil  in  hand, 
and  he  had  an  elaborate  system  of  marking  a 
book.  Aristotle,  St.  Augustine,  Dante  an(? 
Bishop  Butler  were  the  authors  who  had  the 
deepest  influence  upon  him,  so  he  himself  said. 
His  copy  of  the  Odyssey  of  Homer  he  had  re- 
bound several  times,  as  he  preferred  always  to 
use  the  same  copy. 

Mrs.  Drew  says  of  her  father :  '^  There 
could  not  be  a  better  illustration  of  his  mind 
than  his  Temple  of  Peace — his  study,  with  its 
extraordinarily  methodical  arrangement.  Away 
from  home  he  will  write  an  exact  description  of 
the  key  or  paper  he  requires,  as  :  ^  Open  the  left 
hand  drawer  of  the  writing  table  nearest  the  fire- 
place, and  at  the  back  of  the  drawer,  in  the  right 
hand  corner,  you  will  find  some  keys.  You  will 
see  three  on  one  string ;  send  me  the  one  with 
such  and  such  teeth.'  His  mind  is  arranged  in 
the  same  way ;  he  has  only  to  open  a  particular 
compartment,  labelled  so  and  so,  to  find  the  im- 
formation  he  requires.  His  memory  in  conse- 
quence is  almost  unfailing.  It  is  commonly 
found  that  in  old  age  the  memory  may  be  per- 


568  WILLIAM  E.  GLADSTONE. 

feet  as  regards  times  long  gone  by,  but  inaccu- 
rate and  defective  as  to  more  recent  events.  But 
with  Mr.  Gladstone  the  things  of  the  present  are 
as  deeply  stamped  on  his  brain  as  the  things  of 
the  past.''  Some  one  has  said  of  Mr.  Gladstone 
that  his  memory  was  ''  terrible."  It  is  evident 
that  he  always  kept  abreast  of  the  times — inform- 
ing himself  of  everything  new  in  literature, 
science  and  art,  and  when  over  eighty  years  of 
age  was  as  ready  to  imbibe  fresh  ideas  as  when 
he  was  only  eighteen,  and  far  more  discrimi- 
nating. 

Those  who  entered  Mr.  Gladstone's  official 
room  on  a  Sunday,  during  the  busiest  parliamen- 
tary session,  could  not  fail  to  be  struck  by  the 
atmosphere  of  repose,  the  signs  and  symbols 
of  the  day,  the  books  lying  open  near  the  arm- 
chair, the  deserted  writing-table,  the  absence  of 
papers  and  newspapers.  On  Sunday  Mr.  Glad- 
stone put  away  all  business  of  a  secular  nature, 
occupied  his  time  in  reading  special  books,  suit- 
able to  the  day,  and  generally  attended  church 
twice,  never  dined  out,  except  he  went  on  a  mis- 
sion of  mercy,  or  to  cheer  some  sorrowful  friend. 
When  the  Queen  invited  him  to  Windsor  Castle 
on  Sunday  for  one  night,  as  she  did  sometimes, 
he  always  arranged  to  stay  in  Windsor  Saturday. 
In  his  dressing  room  he  kept  a  large  open 
bible  in  which  he  daily  read.  Physically, 
intellectually   and   spiritually    Mr.   Gladstone's 


In  Private  Life.  569 

Sundays  were  regarded  by  his  family  as  a 
priceless  blessing  to  him,  and  to  have  made  him 
the  man  he  was.  Mr.  Gladstone  had  strict  notions 
of  his  duty  to  his  church.  Whenever  he  estab- 
lished himself  in  London,  he  always  attended  the 
nearest  church,  and  became  regular  in  his  atten- 
dance, not  only  on  the  Sabbath,  but  daily.  With 
an  empire  on  his  shoulders  he  found  time  for 
daily  public  devotion,  and  in  church-going  he 
was  no  "  gadabout."  When  he  resided  at  Carl- 
ton House  Terrace  he  attended  the  church  of  St. 
Martin-in-the-Fields. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  daily  correspondence,  when 
Prime  Minister,  was  simply  enormous.  At  first 
he  felt  it  to  be  a  conscientious  duty  to  deal  with 
the  most  of  it  himself,  but  finally  came  to  trust 
the  bulk  of  it  to  secretaries  as  other  ministers 
did.  Some  letters  came  to  him  daily  that  he  had 
to  answer  with  his  own  hand ;  for  example,  from 
ministers  or  on  confidental  business,  from  the 
court.  At  the  end  of  every  Cabinet  Council  the 
Premier  has  to  write  a  letter  with  his  own  hand 
to  his  sovereign,  giving  full  information  of  the 
business  transacted.  The  same  kind  of  report  is 
required  daily  from  Parliament.  Of  course  Mr. 
Gladstone,  whenever  he  was  Prime  Minister, 
faithfully  attended  to  this  duty  and  dispatched 
the  required  letters  written  with  his  own  hand  to 
the  Queen. 

Mr.    Gladstone    was    remarkable    for    the 


570  William  e.  Gladstone 

strength  and  endurance  of  his  body  as  well  as 
for  the  vigor  of  his  intellect.  "  Don't  talk  to 
me  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  mind,"  said  a  contempor- 
ary ;  ^'  it  is  his  body  which  astonishes  me."  He 
never  had  any  serious  illness  in  his  life,  and 
up  to  quite  recent  years  were  vigorous  ex- 
ercise, sometimes  walking  when  in  Scotland  20 
miles  at  a  stretch  over  rough  and  mountainous 
country.  The  physical  effort  of  speaking  to 
twenty  thousand  people,  and  being  heard  in  every 
part  of  the  vast  building  by  the  audience,  as  was 
the  case  at  Birmingham,  in  1889,  was  remarkable. 
His  power  of  endurance  was  wonderful.  In  1882, 
he  once  sat  up  through  an  all-night  sitting  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  going  back  to  10  Down- 
ing Street,  at  8  o'clock  in  the  morning,  for  half 
an  hour's  rest,  again  returned  to  the  House  and 
remained  until  the  conclusion  of  the  setting. 
Tree-cutting,  which  was  with  him  a  frequent 
recreation  until  he  became  a  very  old  man,  was 
chosen  '^  as  giving  him  the  maximum  of  healthy 
exercise  in  the  minimum  of  time."  This  favor- 
ite pastime  of  the  great  stateman  was  so  closely 
associated  with  him  that  it  was  deemed  the  prop- 
er thing  to  do  to  place  on  exhibition  in  the  Great 
Columbian  Exposition  at  Chicago  one  of  the  axes 
of  Mr.  Gladstone. 

The  Psalmist  says,  ^'A  man  was  famous  ac- 
cording as  he  had  lifted  up  axes  upon  the  thick 
trees."     These  singular  words  were  written  long 


In  Private  life.  571 

before  Mr.  Gladstone's  day,  but  famous  as  lie 
was  for  felling  the  great  trees  of  the  forest,  the 
words  have  a  deeper  meaning  and  in  more  than 
one  sense  met  their  fulfilment  in  him.  His 
swift  and  keen  axe  of  reform  brought  down 
many  hoary  headed  evils.  Mr.  Gladstone  him- 
self explained  why  he  cultivated  this  habit  of 
cutting  down  trees.  He  said :  "  I  chop  wood  be- 
cause I  find  that  it  is  the  only  occupation  in  the 
world  that  drives  all  thought  from  my  mind. 
When  I  walk  or  ride  or  play  cricket,  I  am  still 
debating  important  business  problems,  but  when 
I  chop  wood  I  can  think  of  nothing  but  making 
the  chips  fly." 

The  following  story  illustrates  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's remarkable  powers  and  the  surprise  he 
would  spring  upon  those  who  met  him.  Two 
gentlemen  who  were  invited  guests  at  a  table 
where  Mr.  Gladstone  was  expected,  made  a  wa- 
ger that  they  would  start  a  conversation  on  a 
subject  about  which  even  Mr.  Gladstone  would 
know  nothing.  To  accomplish  this  end  they 
*'  read  up  "  an  '^  ancient "  magazine  article  on 
some  unfamiliar  subject  connected  with  Chinese 
manufactures.  When  the  favorable  opportunity 
came  the  topic  was  started,  and  the  two  conspira- 
tors watched  with  amusement  the  growing  in- 
terest in  the  subject  which  Mr.  Gladstone's  face 
betrayed.  Finally  he  joined  in  the  conversation, 
and  their  amusement  was  turned  into  confusion, 


572  WILLIAM  E.  GLADSTONE 

when   Mr.  Gladstone   said,    "Ah,   gentlemen,    I 
perceive  you  have  been  reading  an  article  I  wrote 

in   the  Magazine  some   thirty  or  forty 

years  ago. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
Closing  Scenes  of  a  Long  and   Eventful   Life. 


A  ^  R.  GLADSTONE  died  at  Hawarden 
Jlfi        Castle,    at    5    o'clock,    Thursday 
^^V  ^^    Morning,  May  19,  1898. 

The  first  intimation  of  the  rap- 
idly approaching  end  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone was  conveyed  in  a  bulletin  issued  at  9 
o'clock  Tuesday  morning.  May  17.  It  read 
"  Mr.  Gladstone  had  a  poor  and  broken  sleep 
last  night;  he  is  somewhat  exhausted,  but  suf- 
fers no  discomfort."  The  report  of  the  evening 
before  was  assuring  as  to  any  sudden  change,  so 
that  the  anxiety  was  increased.  For  hours  no 
additional  information  was  given,  but  there  were 
indications  outside  the  Castle  of  a  crisis.  Through- 
out the  day  could  be  heard  expressions  of  deep 
regret  among  the  working  people,  asking,  "  How 
is  the  old  gentleman  ?  "     Despite  the  heavy  rain 

573 


574  William  E.  Gladstone. 

tlie  people  collected  in  groups,  and  the  hush  and 
quiet  that  prevailed  indicated  the  presence  of 
death. 

A  bulletin  at  5  p.  m.  said :  ^'  Mr.  Gladstone 
has  taken  a  serious  turn  for  the  worse.  His 
death  may  be  expected  in  twenty-four  hours." 
All  day  the  condition  of  the  patient  had  been 
critical.  The  doctor  doubted  that  his  patient 
was  fully  conscious  at  any  time,  he  answered, 
''Yes,"  and  ''  No."  He  refused  all  medicine,  ex- 
claiming No  !  No  !  It  was  remarked  that  when 
addressed  in  English,  Mr.  Gladstone  would  an- 
swer in  French,  and  sometimes  was  praying  in 
French. 

Later  in  the  evening  the  servants  of  the 
household  were  admitted  to  the  sick  room  for  a 
final  farewell.  They  found  Mr.  Gladstone  lying 
in  a  deep  sleep;  each  in  turn  knelt  down,  kissed 
his  hand  and  tearfully  withdrew. 

About  9  o'clock  the  patient  rallied  a  little 
and  fell  into  a  peaceful  sleep,  which  was  thought 
to  be  his  last. 

The  rain  had  continued  to  fall  during  the 
night,  but  the  villagers  had  been  coming  singly 
and  in  groups  to  glance  silently  at  the  rain- 
beaten  scrap  of  paper  which  was  the  latest  bulle- 
tin, and  then  silently  returning  to  the  gate,  and 
disappearing  in  the  darkness  only  to  return 
later. 


Closing  Scenes.  575 

About  4  o'clock  in  the  morning  Mr.  Glad- 
stone seemed  to  be  sinking.  The  scene  in  the 
sick-room  was  painful.  The  Rev.  Stephen  Glad- 
stone read  prayers  and  hymns,  including  Mr. 
Gladstone's  favorite,  "  Rock  of  Ages."  When 
this  was  concluded,  Mr.  Gladstone  murmured, 
"  Our  Father.''  As  Mrs.  Gladstone  leaned  over 
her  husband,  he  turned  his  head  and  his  lips 
moved  slightly.  Though  extremly  distressed, 
Mrs.  Gladstone  bore  up  with  remarkable  forti- 
tude. But  Mr.  Gladstone  rallied  again,  and 
Wednesday  morning  he  was  still  living.  By  his 
almost  superhuman  vitality  he  had  fought  death 
away. 

The  morning  was  beautiful  and  clear  and 
the  sunshine  came  in  at  the  open  window  of  Mr. 
Gladstone's  room.  The  aged  sufferer  was  hover- 
ing between  life  and  death,  and  only  by  the  fee- 
ble beating  of  his  pulse  could  it  be  told  he  was 
alive.  He  was  sleeping  himself  away  into  eter- 
nal day.  Mrs.  Gladstone  sat  by  the  side  of  his 
bed,  holding  his  hand,  and  never  leaving  except 
for  needed  rest.  At  times  he  seemed  to  recog- 
nize for  a  moment  some  of  those  with  him.  He 
surely  knew  his  wife  as  she  tenderly  kissed  his 
hand. 

It  soon  became  known  abroad  that  Mr.  Glad- 
stone was  dying.  In  the  House  of  Commons  it 
caused  profound  sorrow.  Everything  else  was 
stopped  while  members  discussed  how  best  to 


576  William  E.  Gladstone 

Honor  him,  even  by  taking  steps  without,  prece- 
dent as  that  of  adjourning,  because  the  circum- 
stances were  unprecedented.  His  former  col- 
leagues silently  watched  his  last  struggle  with 
the  relentless  foe,  to  whom,  true  to  himself,  he 
was  yielding  slowly,  inch  by  inch. 

Telegrams  of  inquiry  and  sympathy  came 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  to  the  Castle.  The 
Queen  wrote  making  inquiries  and  tendering 
assurances  of  profound  sympathy.  A  long  tele- 
gram from  the  Princess  of  Wales  concluded :  "  I 
am  praying  for  you."  The  Prince  of  Wales  wrote: 
"  My  thoughts  are  with  you  at  this  trying  time. 
God  grant  that  your  father  does  not  suffer."  The 
Duke  of  Devonshire  before  the  British  Empire 
League  referred  touchingly  to  the  mournful 
scenes  at  Hawarden,  when  "  the  greatest  of  Eng- 
lishmen was  slowly  passing  away."  And  all 
over  the  land  people  of  all  conditions  and  at  all 
kinds  of  gatherings,  politicians,  divines,  reform- 
ers, and  women  joined  in  expressions  of  grief 
and  sympathy.  Many  were  the  messages  of  re- 
gard and  condolence  that  came  from  other  lands. 

Dr.  Dobie  furnishes  the  following  picture  of 
the  dying  man.  "  His  grand  face  bears  a  most 
peaceful  and  beautiful  look.  A  few  days  ago  the 
deeply  bitten  wrinkles  that  so  long  marked  it 
were  almost  gone ;  but  now,  strangely  enough, 
they  seem  strong  and  deep  as  ever.  He  looks 
too  in  wonderfully  good  color." 


Closing  Scenes  577 

At  2  o^clock  ill  tlie  morning,  it  was  evident 
that  the  time  had  come,  and  the  family  gathered 
about  the  bed  of  the  aged  man,  from  that  time 
none  of  them  left  the  room  until  all  was  over. 
The  only  absentee  was  little^ Dorothy  Drew^  who 
tearfully  complained  that  her  grandfather  did 
not  know  her.  Behind  the  family  circle  stood 
the  physicians  and  the  nurses,  and  the  old  coach- 
man, who  had  been  unable  to  be  present  when 
the  other  servants  took  their  farewell,  and  who 
was  now  sent  for  to   witness   the  closing  scene. 

The  end  was  most  peaceful.  There  were  no 
signs  of  bodily  pain  or  of  mental  distress.  The 
Rev.  Stephen  Gladstone  read  prayers  and  re- 
peated hymns.  The  nurse  continued  to  bathe 
with  spirits  the  brow  of  the  patient,  who  showed 
gratitude  by  murmuring,  "  How  nice  !  "  While 
the  son  was  engaged  in  praying,  came  the  gentle, 
almost  perceptible  cessation  of  life,  and  the  great 
man  was  no  more.  So  quietly  had  he  breathed 
his  last,  that  the  family  did  not  know  it  until  it 
was  announced  by  the  medical  attendants.  The 
v/eeping  family  then  filed  slowly  from  the  room, 
Mrs.  Gladstone  was  led  into  another  room  and 
induced  to  lie  down.  The  only  spoken  evidence 
that  Mr.  Gladstone  realized  his  surroundings  in 
his  last  moments  was  when  his  son  recited  the 
litany.  Then  the  dying  man  murmured,  "Amen." 
This  was  the  last  word  spoken  by  Mr.  Gladstone 
and  was  uttered  just  before  he  died. 


578  William  E.  Gladstone 

The  death  of  Mr.  Gladstone  was  announced 
to  the  people  of  Hawarden  by  the  tolling  of  the 
church  bell.  The  following  bulletin  was  posted 
at  6  a.  m.:  "In  the  natural  course  of  things  the 
funeral  will  be  at  Hawarden.  Mr.  Gladstone  ex- 
pressed a  strong  wish  to  have  no  flowers  at  his 
funeral ;  and  the  family  will  be  grateful  if  this 
desire  is  strictly  respected." 

There  was  something  indescribably  pathetic 
in  the  daily  bulletins  about  Mr.  Gladstone.  All 
the  world  knew  that  he  was  afflicted  with  a  fatal 
but  slow  disease,  and  all  the  world  was  struck 
with  wondering  admiration  at  his  sustained  forti- 
tude, patience,  and  resignation.  The  tragedy  of 
a  life,  devoted  simply  and  purely  to*  the  public 
service,  drawing  to  an  end  in  so  long  an  agony, 
was  a  spectacle  that  struck  home  to  the  heart  of 
the  most  callous.  These  bulletins  were  posted  on 
the  front  door  of  the  Jubilee  Porch,  at  Hawarden 
Castle,  at  9  a.  m.,  5  p.  m.  and  10  o^clock  at  night 
daily,  and  published  throughout  the  world. 

When  the  sad  event  was  announced  that 
Mr.  Gladstone  had  passed  away,  the  action  of  the 
House  of  Commons  was  prompt,  decided  and 
sympathetic.  The  House  was  crowded  Thurs- 
day, May  19,  when  Speaker  Gully  called  upon 
the  government  leader,  Mr.  A.  J.  Balfour,  the 
First  Lord  of  the  Treasury,  and  all  the  members 
uncovering  their  heads,  Mr,  Balfour  said : 


Closing  Scenes.  579 

"  I  think  it  will  be  felt  in  all  parts  of  the 
House  that  we  should  do  fitting  honor  to  the 
great  man  whose  long  and  splendid  career  closed 
to-day,  by  adjourning. 

''  This  is  not  the  occasion  for  uttering  the 
thoughts  which  naturally  suggest  themselves. 
That  occasion  will  present  itself  to-morrow,  when 
it  will  be  my  duty  to  submit  to  the  House  an  ad- 
dress to  the  Queen,  praying  her  to  grant  the 
honor  of  a  public  funeral,  if  such  honor  is  not 
inconsistent  with  the  expressed  wishes  of  himself 
or  of  those  who  have  the  right  to  speak  in  his 
behalf,  and  also  praying  the  Queen  to  direct  that 
a  public  monument  be  erected  at  Westminster 
with  an  inscription  expressive  of  the  public  ad- 
miration, attachment  and  high  estimate  enter- 
tained by  the  House  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  rare  and 
splendid  gifts  and  devoted  labors  in  Parliament 
and  in  high  offices  of  State. 

"  Before  actually  moving  the  adjournment, 
I  have  to  propose  a  formal  resolution  that  the 
House  to-morrow  resolve  itself  into  committee  to 
darw  up  an  address,  the  contents  of  which  I  have 
just  indicated." 

After  a  word  of  assent  from  Sir  William 
Vernon-Harcourt,  the  Liberal  leader,  the  resolu- 
tion was  adopted  and  the  House  adjourned. 

The  House  of  Commons  was  crowded  again 
on  Friday,  and  went  into  committee  of  the 
whole  to  consider  the  address  to  the  Queen  in 


58o  William  E.  Gladstone 

regard  to  the  interment  of  the  remains  of  Mr. 
Gladstone  in  Westminster  Abbey.  Not  since 
the  introduction  of  the  Home  Rule  Bill  by  Mr. 
Gladstone  had  there  been  such  an  assemblage  in 
the  House,  members  filled  every  seat,  clustered 
on  the  steps  of  the  speaker's  dais,  and  occupied 
every  space.  The  galleries  were  all  filled.  In 
the  Peer's  gallery  were  the  foremost  members  of 
the  House  of  Lords.  United  States  Ambassador 
Hay  and  all  his  staff  were  present  with  other 
Ambassadors.  The  members  of  the  House  were 
in  deep  mourning,  and  all  removed  their  hats, 
as  if  in  the  presence  of  the  dead.  An  unusual 
hush  overspread  all.  After  the  prayer  by  the 
chaplain,  there  was  an  impressive  silence  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  before  Mr.  Balfour  rose  to 
speak.  The  whole  scene  was  profoundly  affect- 
ing. The  eulogies  of  Mr.  Gladstone  formed  an 
historic  episode.  All,  without  respect  to  party, 
united  in  honoring  their  late  illustrious  coun- 
tryman. 

Mr.  Balfour  delivered  a  brilliant  panegyric 
of  the  dead  statesman,  and  his  speech  was  elo- 
quent and  displayed  great  taste.  He  was  so  ill, 
however,  from  weakness  of  heart  that  he  was 
barely  able  to  totter  to  his  place  and  to  ask  the 
indulgence  of  the  speaker  while  he  rested,  before 
offering  his  oration.  He  was  too  sick  for  the  sad 
duty  imposed  upon  him,  but  he  preferred  to  pay 
this  last  tribute  to  his  friend.  The  circumstances 


,  ^^'^^RS/ry  \ 


y 


Closing  Scenes  583 

were  painful,  but  added  a  dramatic  touch  to 
the  scene.  His  oration  was  lengthy  and  his 
eulogy  spoken  with  evident  emotion.  He  con- 
cluded by  formally  moving  the  presentation  of 
the  address  to  the  Queen.  The  Liberal  Leader, 
Sir  William  Vernon-Harcourt,  the  political  as 
well  as  the  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Gladstone, 
seconded  the  motion.  He  paid  a  heartfelt  tri- 
bute to  the  memory  of  his  eminent  colleague,  and 
spoke  in  a  vein  of  lofty  and  glowing  eloquence 
until  overcome  with  emotion,  so  that  he  had  to 
stop  thrice  to  wipe  his  eyes ;  finally  he  com- 
pletely broke  down  and  was  unable  to  pro- 
ceed. 

Mr.  Dillon,  the  Irish  leader,  in  a  speech  of 
five  minutes  duration,  and  in  his  most  oratori- 
cal style,  dwelt  on  Mr.  Gladstone's  fervid  sym- 
pathy for  the  oppressed  people  of  all  races,  and 
touched  a  chord  which  stirred  the  House.  As 
Mr.  Dillon  had  spoken  for  Ireland,  so  Mr.  Abel 
Thomas  followed  as  the  representative  of 
Wales. 

The  address  to  the  Queen  was  unanimously 
adopted. 

In  the  House  of  Lords  there  was  also  a  full 
attendance  of  members.  The  Marquis  of  Salis- 
bury, Prime  Minister,  spoke  feelingly  of  Mr. 
Gladstone,  who,  he  said,  "  was  ever  guided  in  all 
his  efforts  by  a  lofty  moral  idea".  The  deceased 
will  be  remembered,  not  so  much  for  his  political 


584  William  E.  Gladstone 

work  as  for  the  great  example,  hardly  paralleled 
in  history,  of  the  great  Christian  Statesman." 

The  Earl  of  Kimberly,  the  liberal  leader  in 
the  House  of  Lords,  followed  in  a  touching 
tribute,  and  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  expressed 
generous  appreciation  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  ser- 
vices in  behalf  of  the  Liberal  Unionists,  saying 
their  severance  from  Mr.  Gladstone  was  a  most 
painful  incident.  But,  he  added,  he  could  "  re- 
call no  word  from  Mr.  Gladstone  which  added 
unnecessarily  to  the  bitterness  of  the  situation." 
The  Earl  of  Rosebery  delivered  an  eloquent 
panegyric.  The  honors  of  the  occasion  were 
unanimously  accorded  to  him,  whose  eulogy  of 
his  predecessor  in  the  leadership  of  the  liberal 
party  was  a  masterpiece  of  its  kind.  He  spoke 
of  the  triumphs  of  life  rather  than  the  sorrows  of 
death.  Death  was  not  all  sadness.  His  life  was 
full — his  memory  remains.  To  all  time  he  is 
an  example  for  our  race  and  mankind.  He  in- 
stanced as  an  illustration  of  the  fine  courtesy 
always  observed  by  Mr.  Gladstone  towards  his 
political  opponents,  that  the  last  letter  he  had 
written  with  his  own  hand  was  a  private  note  to 
Lady  Salisbury,  several  weeks  since,  congratu- 
lating her  and  her  husband  on  their  providential 
escape  from  a  carriage  accident  at  Hatfield.  Lord 
Salisbury  was  visibly  touched  by  Lord  Rose- 
bery's  reference  to  this  circumstance. 


Closing  Scenes  585 

Tlie  House  of  Lords  then  adopted  the  Reso- 
lution to  the  Queen. 

The  body  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  un-coffined,  was 
laid  on  a  couch  in  the  Library  of  the  Castle — 
the  room  called  the  Temple  of  Peace.  He  was 
dressed  in  a  suit  of  black  cloth,  over  which  were 
the  scarlet  robes  of  the  university,  and  by  his 
side  the  cap  was  placed.  His  hands  were  folded 
on  his  breast.  He  rested  on  a  most  beautiful 
white  satin  cloth,  with  a  rich  border  in  Eastern 
embroidery.  Above  his  head  in  letters  of  gold 
were  the  words  sewn  into  the  satin  :  "Requiescat 
in  pace."  There  was  the  beauty  of  death — the 
terror  was  all  gone.  During  Tuesday  the  body 
was  viewed  by  the  tenants  on  the  estate,  the 
neighbors  and  friends. 

On  Wednesday  morning.  May  25th,  at  6 
o^clock,  the  remains,  having  been  enclosed  in  a 
plain  panelled  elm  coffin,  were  removed  to  the 
village  church,  where  they  were  lying  in  state 
during  the  day.  The  body  was  carried  by  half- 
a-dozen  old  retainers  of  the  family  to  a  bier  on 
wheels,  on  which  it  was  taken  to  the  church, 
over  the  lawn,  following  the  private  path  Mr. 
Gladstone  used  to  tread  on  his  way  to  church, 
and  past  the  favorite  nooks  of  the  deceased  in 
the  park.  The  family — excepting  Mrs.  Glad- 
stone, who  came  later,  tenants,  servants,  friends, 
local  officials  and  neighbors  followed  in  pro- 
cession,    Thousands  of  people  were  arriving  by 


586  WILLIAM  E.  GLADSTONE. 

public  and  private  conveyances  at  Hawarden. 
At  eleven  o'clock  the  doors  of  the  churcli  were 
opened,  when  men,  women  and  children,  from  all 
the  surrounding  country,  and  even  tourists  from 
abroad,  entered  to  view  the  remains.  All  day 
long  a  constant  stream  of  people  poured  into  the 
church,  while  the  streets  were  filled  with  people 
unable  to  gain  admittance.  Several  ladies 
fainted  from  excess  of  emotion  when  passing  the 
bier,  and  many  men  and  women  dropped  on 
their  knees  and  silently  prayed. 

At  6  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  body  was 
removed  from  Hawarden  Church  and  carried  to 
the  station  for  the  journey  to  London.  The  pro- 
cession to  bear  the  remains  was  composed  of  the 
family,  representatives  of  organizations,  friends 
and  neighbors.  Vast  crowds  lined  the  route, 
afoot  and  in  every  kind  of  vehicle.  The  cortege 
stopped  at  the  entrance  to  the  Park — Hawarden 
Lodge,  and  sang  one  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  favorite 
hymns.  Again,  when  the  procession  reached 
the  Castle,  it  paused  at  the  entrance  and  sang 
another  hymn  loved  by  the  late  resident  of  the 
house,  and  went  on  its  way  to  Broughton  Hall 
Station.  Every  step  of  the  way,  after  leaving 
the  park,  was  again  lined  with  sympathetic  spec- 
tators. While  at  the  station  the  spectacle  was 
remarkable  for  the  surrounding  crush  of  human 
beings.  A  special  train  was  provided  for  the  body 
and  the  family.     As  the  body  of  Mr.  Gladstone 


Closing  Scenes  589 

was  placed  upon  the  funeral  car  the  sorrow  of  the 
people  was  manifest.  The  representatives  of  the 
Earl  Marshall,  of  England,  took  possession  of 
the  funeral  at  this  point.  Henry  and  Herbert 
Gladstone  accompanied  the  body  to  London  and 
Mrs.  Gladstone  and  family  returned  to  the  castle 
to  follow  later. 

All  along  the  route  to  London  grief-stricken 
people  were  standing  to  view  the  funeral  train  as 
it  passed  at  Chester,  Crewe,  Rugby,  Stafford  and 
Fam worth  until  the  darkness  and  lateness  of  the 
night  shut  out  the  scene. 

When  the  train  reached  London  and  passed 
to  Westminster,  it  was  early  in  the  morning.  A 
group  of  some  thirty  gentlemen,  connected  with 
the  ceremonies,  was  at  the  station ;  among  them 
the  Duke  of  Norfolk.  About  two  hundred  peo- 
ple looked  silently  on  while  the  body  was  re- 
moved from  the  train  to  the  hearse,  and  the 
funeral  cortege  moved  on  to  Westminster  Hall 
at  once  and  entered  the  Palace  Yard  just  as  '^Big 
Ben  "  tolled  the  hour  of  one  like  a  funeral  knell. 

The  coffin  was  placed  in  position  for  lying 
in  state  in  Westminster  Hall,  and  at  about  3 
o'clock  Canon  Wilberforce  conducted  a  special 
service  in  the  presence  of  Henry  and  Herbert 
Gladstone  and  several  members  of  the  House  of 
Commons. 

The  scenes  that  followed  were  remarkably 
mpressive  and  unparalleled.     The  people  began 


590  William  e.  Gladstone 

to  arrive  at  Westminster  at  2  o'clock  in  tlie 
morning.  The  line  formed  was  continually  aug- 
mented by  all  classes  of  people, — peers,  peer- 
esses, cabinet  members,  members  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  military  and  naval  officers,  clergy- 
men, costermongers,  old  and  young,  until  6 
o'clock,  when  the  doors  were  opened  and  the  pro- 
cession commenced  to  stream  into  the  Hall,  and 
passed  the  catafalque. 

This  long  procession  of  mourners  continued 
all  day  Thursday  and  Friday.  Two  hundred 
thousand  people,  at  least,  paid  homage  to  the 
dead  statesman.  On  Friday  evening,  after  the 
crowd  had  departed,  large  delegations,  represent- 
ing Liberal  organizations  from  all  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  visited  the  Hall,  by  special  arrange- 
ment, and  fifteen  hundred  of  them  paid  respect 
to  the  memory  of  their  late  leader. 

Saturday  morning,  May  28,  thousands  of 
people  assembled  in  the  square  outside  to  wit- 
ness the  passage  of  the  funeral  cortege  from 
Westminster  Hall,  where  it  was  formed,  to  the 
Abbey,  to  find  sepulchre  in  the  tomb  of  kings. 
The  procession  passed  through  two  lines  of 
policemen.  It  was  not  a  military  parade,  with 
all  its  pomp,  but  a  ceremony  made  glorious  by 
the  homage  of  the  people,  among  them  the  great- 
est of  the  nation.  The  funeral  was  in  every  re- 
spect impressive,  dignified  and  lofty,  in  every 
way  worthy  the  great  civilian,  and  the  nation 


Closing  Scenes.  591 

that  accorded  Him  a  public  burial  with  its  great- 
est dead.  And  the  people  were  there.  Every 
spot  on  which  the  eye  rested  swarmed  with 
human  beings.  They  looked  from  the  windows 
of  the  hospital,  and  from  the  roofs  of  houses. 
Everybody  was  dressed  in  black. 

The  principal  officials  had  assembled  in 
Westminster  Hall  at  10  o'clock.  The  Bishop 
of  London,  the  Right  Rev.  Mandell  Creighton, 
D.  D.,  read  a  brief  prayer  and  at  10.30  o'clock 
the  procession  had  formed  and  slowly  passed 
through  the  crowds  who  with  uncovered  heads 
stood  on  either  side  of  short  pathway,  a  distance 
300  yards,  to  the  western  entrance  of  the  Abbey, 
between  two  ranks  of  the  Eton  Volunteers,  the 
boys  of  the  school  where  Mr.  Gladstone  received 
his  early  education,  in  their  buff  uniforms. 

The  pall-bearers  who  walked  on  each  side 
of  the  coffin  were  perhaps  the  personages  who 
attracted  the  most  attention  during  the  day. 
They  were  the  Prince  of  Wales,  the  Duke  of 
York,  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  the  Earl  of 
Kimberly,  A.  J.  Balfour,  Sir  William  Vemon- 
Harcourt,  the  Duke  of  Rutland,  Lord  Rosebery, 
Baron  Rendel  and  George  Armitstead,  the  two 
latter  being  life-long  friends  of  the  deceased 
statesman. 

When  Mrs.  Gladstone  entered  the  Abbey 
the  whole  assembly  rose  and  remained  standing 
until  she  was  seated.      This  honor  was  accorded 


592  William  E.  Gladstone 

only  once  beside — when  the  Princess  of  Wales, 
the  Princess  Mary  and  the  Duchess  of  York 
appeared. 

The  Abbey  was  filled  with  people.  Every 
gallery,  balcony  and  niche  high  up  among  the 
rafters  held  a  cluster  of  deeply  interested  specta- 
tors. Temporary  galleries  had  been  erected  in 
long  tiers  around  the  open  grave,  which  was  in 
the  floor  of  the  Abbey.  There  were  2,500  per- 
sons assembled  in  the  Abbey,  all — both  men  and 
women — clothed  in  black,  except  a  few  ofl5.cials 
whose  regalia  relieved  this  sombre  background 
by  its  brilliancy.  The  two  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment sat  facing  each  other,  seated  on  temporary 
seats  on  opposite  sides  of  the  grave.  About 
them  were  the  mayors  of  the  principal  cities, 
delegates  from  Liberal  organizations,  representa- 
tives of  other  civic  and  political  societies,  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Non-Conformists,  while  the  long 
nave  was  crowded  with  thousands  of  men  and 
women,  among  them  being  most  of  the  celebrities 
in  all  branches  of  English  life.  In  each  gallery 
was  a  presiding  officer  with  his  official  mace  be- 
side him,  whose  place  was  in  the  centre,  and  who 
was  its  most  prominent  figure.  It  was  a  distin- 
guished assembly  in  a  famous  place.  Beneath 
were  the  illustrious  dead  ;  around  were  the  illus- 
trious living. 

The  members  of  the  bereaved  family  sat  in 
the  stall  nearest  the  bier — Mrs.  Gladstone,  her 


Closing  Scenes  593 

sons  Henry,  Herbert  and  Stephen  ;  with  other 
members  of  the  family,  children  and  grand-chil- 
dren, including  little  Dorothy  Drew,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's favorite  grand-child,  in  her  new  mourning. 

The  Princess  of  Wales  and  the  Duchess  of 
York  occupied  the  Dean's  pew  opposite.  Other 
royalties  were  present  in  person  or  by  their  rep- 
resentatives. 

Within  the  chancel  stood  the  Dean  of  West- 
minster, and  behind  him  were  gathered  the  cathe- 
dral clergy,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and 
the  scarlet  and  white  surpliced  choir,  filling  the 
chapel. 

It  was  the  wish  of  the  deceased  for  simplic- 
ity, but  he  was  buried  with  a  nation's  homage  in 
the  tomb  of  kings.  In  the  northern  transept, 
known  as  the  "  Statesmen's  Corner ",  of  West- 
minster Abbey,  where  Englands's  greatest  dead 
rests,  the  body  of  Mr.  Gladstone  was  entombed. 
His  grave  is  near  the  graves  of  Pitt,  Palmers  ton, 
Canning  and  Peel,  beside  that  of  his  life-long 
political  adversary,  Lord  Beaconsfield  (Benjamin 
Disraeli ) ,  whose  marble  effigy  looks  down  upon 
it,  decked  with  the  regalia  Mr.  Gladstone  had  so 
often  refused.  Two  possible  future  kings  of 
Great  Britain  walked  besides  the  great  common- 
er s  coffin  and  stood  beside  his  grave,  and  all  the 
nobility  and  learning  of  the  nation  surrounded 
his  bier.  This  state  funeral,  the  first  since  that 
of  Lord  Palmerston,  was  rendered  more  imposing 


594  William  E.  Gladstone 

by  the  magnificence  of  the  edifice  in  which  it 
was  solemnized.  The  coffin  rested  on  an  elevated 
bier  before  the  altar,  its  plainness  hidden  beneath 
a  pall  of  white  and  gold  embroidered  cloth. 

A  choir  of  one  hundred  male  singers,  which 
had  awaited  the  coffin  at  the  entrance  to  the 
Abbey,  preceded  it  along  the  nave,  chanting,  ''  I 
am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life."  When  the 
coffin  was  laid  on  the  bier,  Purcell's  funeral 
chant,  "  Lord,  Thou  Hast  Been  Our  Refuge," 
was  sung,  and  Dean  Bradley  and  the  whole 
assemblage  sang,  ^'  Rock  of  Ages,"  and  then 
while  the  coffin  was  being  borne  along  the  aisle 
to  the  grave,  sang  Mr.  Gladstone's  favorite 
hymn,  ^'  Praise  to  the  Holiest  in  the  Height." 

The  choir  of  Westminster  Abbey  is  said  to 
be  fine  at  any  time,  but  for  this  great  occasion 
special  arrangements  had  been  made,  and  there 
was  a  recruiting  of  the  best  voices  from  several 
of  the  choirs  of  London,  and  many  musical 
instruments  beside.  The  result  was  to  win  gen- 
eral praise  for  the  beauty,  harmony  and  perfec- 
tion of  the  music.  The  weird,  dismal  strains  of 
a  quartette  of  trombones,  in  a  recess  far  above 
the  heads  of  the  congregation,  playing  the  three 
splendid  ^'  Equali,"  Beethoven's  funeral  hymn, 
swept  through  the  vaulted  roof  of  the  Abbey,  in 
pure  tones  never  to  be  forgotten.  When  these 
ceased  and  finally  died  away,  the  great  organ  and 
a  band  of  brass  instruments  took  up  Schubert's 


Closing  Scenes.  595 

funeral  marcli,  booming  sonorously  ;  and  changed 
to  Beethoven's  funeral  marcli  with  a  clash  of 
cymbals  in  the  orchestral  accompaniment.  A 
third  march  being  required,  owing  to  the  time 
needed  by  the  procession  to  reach  the  Abbey, 
^'  Marche  Solennelle  "  was  played. 

The  choir,  and  a  large  number  of  bishops 
and  other  clergy,  joined  the  procession  at  the 
west  door  and  together  they  all  proceeded  to  the 
grave. 

There  was  no  sermon.  The  service  was 
simple  and  solemn.  The  final  paean  of  victory 
over  death  and  the  grave  from  Paul's  great 
epistle  was  read,  and  the  last  hymn  sung  was, 
''  Oh  God  !  Our  Help  in  Ages  Past."  The  dean 
read  the  appointed  appropriate  service,  commit- 
ting the  body  to  the  earth,  and  then  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  in  a  loud  voice,  pronounced 
the  benediction.  The  family  and  others  near 
the  grave  kneeled  during  the  concluding  cere- 
monies, and  then  Mrs.  Gladstone  was  helped 
from  her  knees  to  her  unoccupied  chair  at  the 
head  of  the  grave. 

After  the  benediction  came  one  of  the  saddest 
moments  of  the  day.  Mrs.  Gladstone  stood, 
with  great  courage  and  composure,  throughout 
the  service,  supported  on  the  arms  of  her  two 
sons,  Herbert  and  Stephen,  and  with  other  mem- 
bers of  her  family  near  the  grave.  Her  face  was 
lifted  upward,  and  her    lips    were    moving  as 


596  William  E.  Gladstone. 

though  repeating  the  lines  of  the  service.  She 
also  kept  standing  during  the  one  official  feature 
of  the  service  ;  ''  The  Proclamation  by  Garter,  by 
Norroy,  King  of  Arms,  of  the  Style  of  the  De- 
ceased," as  the  official  programme  had  it,  and  in 
which  the  various  offices  which  Mr.  Gladstone 
had  held  in  his  lifetime,  were  enumerated.  Then, 
when  the  final  word  was  spoken,  the  widow,  still 
supported  by  her  sons,  approached  the  edge  of 
the  grave  and  there  took  a  last,  long  look  and 
was  conducted  away.  Other  relatives  followed, 
and  then  most  of  the  members  of  Parliament. 
Finally  the  Prince  of  Wales,  the  Duke  of  York 
and  other  pall-bearers  defiled  past  the  grave,  took 
a  last  view  of  the  coffin  in  the  deep  grave,  and 
when  they  had  been  escorted  down  the  nave  to 
entrance,  the  people  slowly  departed. 

The  ''  Dead  March  "  from  ''  Saul  "  and  the 
"  Marche  Solennelle  "  of  Schubert  was  played  as 
the  congregation  slowly  wended  its  way  out  of 
the  sacred  edifice. 

Perhaps  the  most  solemn  function  of  all, 
witnessed  by  none  but  the  Gladstone  family  and 
the  officials,  was  when  the  casket  was  opened 
shortly  after  midnight  on  Thursday  to  allow  the 
Earl  Marshal  to  verify  with  his  own  eyes  that  it 
really  contained  the  remains  of  the  dead  states- 
man. It  was  said  that  the  old  man's  face,  seen 
for  the  last  time  by  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  who  is 
responsible  to  England  for  his  sacred  charge, 


Closing  Scenes  599 

was  more  peaceful  and  younger  looking  than  it 
had  seemed  for  years.  At  the  very  last  moment 
a  small  gold  Armenian  cross,  a  memento  of  that 
nation  for  which  the  great  statesman  worked  so 
zealously,  was  placed  by  his  side.  Then  all  was 
sealed. 

As  the  deceased  statesman  was  undoubtedly 
the  greatest  parliamentarian  of  our  time,  the  fol- 
lowing concise  expressions  with  regard  to  his 
character  and  influence  have  been  collected  from 
a  number  of  representative  members  of  different 
political  parties  in  both  Houses  of  Parliament : 

The  Marquis  of  Londonderry  said  :  "  What  impressed  me  about 
Mr.  Gladstone  was  his  extraordinary  moral  influence." 

Lord  George  Hamilton  :  "I  doubt  whether  we  ever  had  a  par- 
liamentarian who  equalled  Mr.  Gladstone." 

The  Marquis  of  Lome  :  "I  share  the  universal  regret  at  Mr. 
Gladstone's  death  as  a  personal  loss." 

Sir  John  Gorst :  "  One  feature,  which  greatly  distinguished  Mr. 
Gladstone,  was  his  remarkable  candour  in  debate.  He  never  affected 
to  misunderstand  his  opponents'  arguments,  and  spared  no  pains  in 
trying  to  make  his  own  meaning  understood.'' 

Sir  Charles  Dilke  :  "I  think  Mr.  Gladstone's  leading  personal 
characteristic  was  his  old-fashioned  courtesy.  Whilst  a  statesman, 
his  absolute  mastery  of  finance,  both  in  its  principles  and  details,  was 
incomparably  superior  to  that  of  any  of  his  contemporaries.'* 

Mr.  Thomas  Ellis,  the  chief  Liberal  Whip,  confessed  that  the 
greatest  interest  of  his  life  in  Parliament  was  to  watch  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's face.  '*  It  was  like  the  sea  in  the  fascination  of  its  infinite 
variety,  and  of  its  incalculable  reserve  and  strength.  Every  motion 
in  his  great  soul  was  reflected  in  his  face  and  form.  To  have  had  op- 
portunities of  watching  that  face,  and  of  witnessing  one  triumph  after 
another,  is  a  precious  privilege,  for  some  of  the  charms  of  his  face,  as 
of  his  oratory  and  character,  were  incommunicable.  He  more  than 
any  man  helped  to  build  up  and  shape  the  present  commercial  and 


6oo  WILLIAM  E.  Gladstone 

political  fabric  of  Britain,  but  to  struggling  nations  his  words  and 
deeds  were  as  the  breath  of  life." 

Sir  Joseph  Pease  :  **  His  memory  will  be  kept  green  by  a  grate- 
ful country.  Death  soon  buries  the  battle-axe  of  party,  and  he  who 
devoted  a  long  life  and  immense  intellectual  power,  coupled  with 
strong  convictions  on  moral  and  Christian  ethics,  to  the  well  being  of 
his  country  and  the  world,  will  never  be  forgotten  by  the  English 
people." 

Mr.  James  Bryce,  author  of  "The  American  Commonwealth'': 
' '  This  sad  event  is  the  most  noble  and  pathetic  closing  of  a  great  life 
which  we  have  seen  in  England  in  historical  memory.  I  cannot  recall 
any  other  case  in  which  the  whole  nation  has  followed  the  setting  of  the 
sun  of  life  with  such  sympathy,  such  regret,  and  such  admiration." 

Lord  Kinnaird  :  "Few  men  in  public  life  have  been  able  to 
draw  out  such  personal  love  and  devotion  from  his  followers  and 
friends.  In  the  midst  of  an  ever-busy  life  he  was  always  ready  to 
take  his  part  in  the  conflict  of  right  against  wrong,  of  truth  against 
error,  and  he  earned  the  gratitude  of  all  patriots,  for  he  was  never 
ashamed  of  contending  that  no  true  progress  could  be  made  which  left 
out  of  sight  the  moral  well-being  of  the  people." 

Mr.  Labouchere  :  "  What  impressed  me  most  in  Mr.  Gladstone 
was  his  power  of  concentrated  effort.  Once  he  had  decided  on  a 
course,  action  at  once  followed.  Every  thought  was  bent  to  attain 
the  end,  no  labour  was  deemed  to  arduous.  He  alone  knew  how  to 
deal  with  supporters  and  opponents.  The  former  he  inspired  with  his 
own  fierce  energy." 

Mr.  John  Redmond,  leader  of  the  Parnellite  group  of  the  Irish 
Nationalists  :  "  The  loss  to  England  is  absolutely  incalculable.  I 
regard  Mr.  Gladstone  as  having  been  the  greatest  parliamentarian  of 
the  age,  and  the  greatest  parliamentary  orator.  Englishmen  of  all 
parties  ought  to  be  grateful  to  him  for  his  services  in  promoting  the 
greatness  and  prosperity  of  their  empire. 

John  Dillon  :  ' '  The  greatest  and  most  patriotic  of  Englishmen. 
If  I  were  asked  to  say  what  I  think  most  characteristic  of  Gladstone,  I 
should  say  his  abiding  love  for  the  common  people  and  his  faith  in  the 
government  founded  upon  them,  so  that,  while  he  remained  the  most 
patiiotic  of  Englishmen,  he  is  to-day  mourned  wtth  equal  intensity 
throughout  the  civilized  world." 

Justin  McCarthy,  M.  P.:  "  The  death  of  Mr.  Gladstone  closes  a 
career  which  may  be  described  as  absolutely  unique  in  English  politi- 


Closing  Scenes  6oi 

cal  history.  It  was  the  career  of  a  great  statesman,  whose  statesman- 
ship was  first  and  last  inspired,  informed  and  guided  by  conscience, 
by  principle,  and  by  love  of  justice.  There  were  great  English  states- 
men before  Mr.  Gladstone's  time  and  during  Mr.  Gladstone's  time, 
but  we  shall  look  in  vain  for  an  example  of  any  statesman  in 
office,  who  made  genius  and  eloquence,  as  Mr.  Gladstone  did,  the 
mere  servants  of  righteousness  and  conscientious  purpose.  Into 
the  mind  of  Gladstone  no  thought  of  personal  ambition  or  personal 
advancement  ever  entered.  He  was  as  conscientious  as  Burke.  In 
the  brilliancy  of  his  gifts  he  was  at  least  the  equal  of  Bolingbroke. 
He  was  as  great  an  orator  as  either  Pitt,  and  he  has  left  the  imprint 
of  his  intellect  on  beneficent  political  and  social  legislation.  In  elo- 
quence he  far  surpassed  Cobden  and  was  the  peer  of  Bright,  while  his 
position  as  Parliamentary  leader  enabled  him  to  initiate  and  carry 
out  measures  of  reform  which  Bright  and  Cobden  could  only  support. 
He  was,  in  short,  the  greatest  and  the  best  Prime  Minister  known  to 
English  history." 

Michael  Davitt :  "One  can  only  join  with  the  whole  world  in 
admiration  of  the  almost  boundless  talents  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  which 
were  devoted  with  unparalleled  power  of  charm  to  the  service  of  his 
fellow-men.  He  was  probably  the  greatest  British  statesman  and 
leaves  behind  a  record  of  a  career  unequalled  in  the  annals  of 
English  politics.  For  the  magnitude  of  his  national  labors  and  integ- 
rity of  his  personal  character,  Irishmen  will  remember  him  gratefully. 

The  Daily  Chronicle  heads  its  editorial  with  a  quotation  from 
Wordsworth  : 

"  This  is  the  happy  warrior  :  this  is  he  : 
That  every  man  in  arms  should  wish  to  be." 

The  editorial  says  :  "A  glorious  light  has  been  extinguished  in 
the  land ;  all  his  life  lies  in  the  past,  a  memory  to  us  and  our  children ; 
an  inspiration  and  possession  forever.  The  end  has  come  as  to  a 
soldier  at  his  post.  It  found  him  calm,  expectant,  faithful,  unshaken. 
Death  has  come  robed  in  the  terrors  of  mortal  pain  ;  but  what  better 
can  be  said  than  that  as  he  taught  his  fellows  how  to  live,  so  he  has 
taught  them  how  to  die  ? 

*'  It  is  impossible  at  this  hour  to  survey  the  mighty  range  of  this 
splendid  life.  We  would  assign  to  him  the  title.  *  The  Great  Nation- 
alist of  the  Nineteenth  Century  ; '  the  greatest  of  the  master-builders 
cf  modern  England.  Timidity  had  no  place  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  soul. 
Ho  was  a  lion  among  men,  endowed  with  a  granite  strength  of  will 
and  purpose,  rare  indeed  in  our  age  of  feeble  convictions.'' 


602  WILLIAM  E.  GLADSTONE 

The  Daily  News  says  :  ' '  One  of  his  most  characteristics  quali- 
ties was  his  personal  humility.  This  cannot  be  explained  without 
the  key,  for  Mr.  Gladstone  did  not  in  the  ordinary  meaning  of  the 
word,  underrate  himself.  He  was  not  easy  to  persuade.  He  paid 
little  attention  to  other  people's  opinions  when  his  mind  was  made  up, 
He  was  quite  aware  of  his  own  ascendency  in  counsel  and  his  suprem- 
acy in  debate.  The  secret  of  his  humility  was  an  abiding  sense  that 
these  things  were  of  no  importance  compared  with  the  relations  be- 
tween God's  creatures  and  their  Creator.  Mr.  Gladstone  once  said 
with  characteristic  candour  that  he  had  a  vulnerable  temper.  He  was 
quickly  moved  to  indignation  by  whatever  he  thought  injurious 
either  to  himself  or  to  others,  and  was  incapable  of  concealing  his  emo- 
tions, for,  if  he  said  nothing,  his  countenance  showed  what  he  felt. 
More  expressive  features  were  never  given  to  man. 

"  Mr.  Gladstone's  exquisite  courtesy,  which  in  and  out  of  Parlia- 
ment was  the  model  for  all,  proceeded  from  the  same  source.  It  was 
essentially  Christian.  Moreover,  nobody  laughed  more  heartily  over 
an  anecdote  that  was  really  good.  He  was  many  men  in  one  ;  but  he 
impressed  all  alike  with  the  essential  greatness  of  his  character. 

"  He  was  built  mentally  and  morally  on  a  large  scale.  Of  course 
it  cannot  be  denied  that  such  a  face,  such  a  voice,  such  natural 
dignity,  and  such  perfect  gesture  produced  in  themselves  an  immense 
effect.  There  was  nothing  common-place  about  him.  Mr.  Gladstone 
was  absolutely  simple  ;  and  his  simplicity  was  not  the  least  attractive 
element  of  his  fascinating  personality. 

"  His  life  presented  aspects  of  charm  to  all  minds.  His  learning 
captivated  the  scholar,  his  eloquence  and  statesmanship  the  politician, 
his  financial  ^genius  the  business  man  ;  while  his  domestic  relations 
and  simple  human  graciousness  appealed  to  all  hearts. 

"  '  There  is  a  prince  and  a  great  man  fallen  this  day  in  Israel.'  " 

Public  Ledger^  Philadelphia  :  "  To  write  Gladstone's  career  is  to 
write  the  history  of  the  Victorian  era  and  that  of  the  closing  years  of 
the  reign  of  William  IV,  for  Gladstone  took  his  seat  in  Parliament 
for  the  first  time  in  1832,  two  years  after  he  was  out  of  college,  and 
Victoria's  accession  took  place  in  1837.  Since  that  remote  day  Glad- 
stone has  been  four  times  Premier  ;  has  delivered  numberless  speeches 
of  the  highest  order  of  excellence;  has  published  a  multitude  of  pamph- 
lets and  volumes  which  attest  consummate  intellectual  gifts,  and  has 
been  a  great  force  in  English  statesmanship  and  scholarship  through 
an  exceptionally  long  life  and  almost  to  the  very  close  of  it.  It  has 
been  given  to  exceedingly  few  men  to  play  so  great,  so  transcendent  a 
role  in  any  country  or  at  any  time. " 


'loan  dept. 

Renew^boo|««esub^  ^ 


5iin 


bsartX- 


TT^9lA-50w-3,'62 


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